The seventh wave of the coronavirus it’s here. This is clear from the last epidemiological part of the Ministry of Health.
This past Tuesday, 52,218 new infections (The total number since the start of the pandemic rises to 12,734,038).
As for the deceased, 107 more, so the global number stands at 107,906.
What is most worrying, however, is the increase in hospitalizationswhose trend is the worst in the last four months.
Spain is close to 10,000 people admitted, of which 433 are in the Intensive Care Units (ICU).
The incidence (in those over 60 years of age, which is the age group taken as reference) is 841.27 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. By age groups:
- Those over 60: 660.
- Those over 70 years of age: 916.
- Those over 80 years of age: 1,082.
According to the (CCAES) report, BA.5 is already the predominant lineage in most of the autonomous communities, with the exception of Castilla-La Mancha and the Canary Islands.
In Galicia and the Balearic Islands, it exceeds 70% of current infections: 76.3 and 76.4% respectively.
“BA.4 and BA.5 de present a growth advantage over the dominant BA.2 lineage. These lineages have become dominant in the countries where they were detected earlier and are expected to soon displace BA.2 in the rest,” the experts explain.
These lineages, they emphasize, have shown a greater ability to evade the immune response than BA.2, so it is likely that their expansion contributes to an increase in cases and an increase in infections is detected. reinfections and infections in vaccinated persons.
BA.4 and BA.5: More virulent?
The BA.4 and BA.5 lineages were first detected in South Africa in January and February.
In Portugal, during the month of May, BA.5 displaced BA.2 to become the dominant lineage, also coinciding with a new wave that is currently in a downward phase.
The Portuguese country registered, between June 14 and 20, 95,943 infections and 239 deaths. Despite these data, there has been a decrease in hospital admissions, both on the ward and in the Intensive Care Units.
The (ECDC) has described them as worrisome variants.
However, it is already known with certainty that they do not cause the development of the most serious disease, although there are “indications of their ability to partially evade the response generated by vaccines and/or previous infections”
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“These lineages share the same combination of mutations in the spike gene although they present differences in other regions of their genome. Although most of the mutations coincide with those of BA.2, some differences stand out, such as the presence of the 69-70 deletion or the L452R and F486V mutations, both with implications for receptor binding and evasion of the immune response mediated by antibodies”.
In both South Africa and Portugal, countries where the peak of infections has already been exceeded, the increase in the number of cases has been accompanied by an increase in the number of hospitalizations.
However, “no changes in virulence have been found with respect to that observed for the BA.1 and BA.2 lineages.”
Higher chance of reinfection?
Data made public by the Portuguese Ministry of Health indicates an increase in people reinfected in the month of May.
These data would indicate the greater evasion capacity of the immune response associated with this lineage.
“The activity of monoclonal antibodies against these lineages has also been studied in two recent studies. These first studies indicate that the resistance pattern would be similar to that of BA.2, although one of the studies did detect greater resistance of BA.4/BA.5 against cilgavimab (combination of two monoclonal antibodies)”.
BA.4 and BA.5: Symptoms and duration
Have the symptoms of these omicron lineages changed? A study by indicates that the most frequent symptoms of patients infected with BA.4 and BA.5:
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Fatigue, detected in 75% of the surveyed patients.
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Cough and fever, observed in 58.3% of the people studied.
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Headache, 52.1% of cases.
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Nasal discharge, which occurs in 50.7% of patients.
They are not the only ones. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are common.
The duration of the symptoms, highlights the organism, have increased. From four days on average for BA.1 to seven days for BA.4 and BA.5.
There is also a greater probability of suffering loss of smell and taste, very characteristic symptoms of SARS-CoV-2.
What is the risk in Spain?
The figures show an increase in the contagion curve in recent weeks. As estimated by the Health Alerts and Emergencies Coordination Center, it is likely that the BA.4 and BA.5 lineages will soon become “predominant” throughout the country.
And, therefore, its expansion will contribute “to an increase in cases and an increase in reinfections and infections will be detected.” infections in vaccinated people”.
The risk is considered low, but “a very high increase in the number of cases would lead to an increase in the number of hospitalizations and deaths.”
We must protect the most vulnerable people
The report emphasizes the high level of immune protection in the population, since “more than 89% of people over 5 years of age have a complete regimen and more than 90% of people 60 years of age or older with booster doses” .
In addition, “the latest data available on vaccine efficacy against hospitalization and death confirm that it remains at high levels.”
Despite the significant immunity of the Spanish population, people…