They discover the first case of Omigran’s new subtype BA.2 in Puerto Rico

The expected happened. A subtype of Omigron BA.2 arrived in Puerto Rico, confirmed by the Department of Health a few minutes ago.

The woman, aged 20 to 29, lives in the Bayamon area and is said to have been vaccinated against the full range of the Covit-19 vaccine. This refers to the first two doses of the product, not the booster.

In written statements, the agency reported that the woman had no travel history, i.e. her infection was from a local, already victim. His lab sample was on Tuesday this week. His symptoms include fever, cough, loss of taste and sense of smell, nasal congestion, headache and muscle aches, although his condition does not require hospital treatment.

“It simply came to our notice then. Preliminary data suggest that the Omigron subtype is slightly more contagious. The good news is that the vaccine is still effective in preventing serious illness. Our call for citizenship must continue with preventive measures. Above all, everyone who is qualified to administer the booster dose, ”said Health Secretary Carlos Melloto in a statement.

As pointed out, a subset of Govt-19 has already been identified in 83 countries, with the exception of 50 states in the United States. This is the third Omigran sublineage identified in Puerto Rico after the detection of cases BA.1 and BA.1.1.

Chief Epidemiologist of Salute Dr. Melissa Marzon said BA.2 has not been described as more severe than previous Omigron sublimations. Studies have found that BA.2 is 30% more contagious than BA.1.

For his part, Dr. Iris Cardona, Chief Medical Officer of Health, highlighted the importance of the booster dose of the Covit-19 vaccine. The official recalled that after five months, studies have shown that the effectiveness of vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna decreases, and in the case of Johnson & Johnson, the effectiveness of the vaccine decreases after two months.

In Puerto Rico today, three additional deaths from COVID-19 were reported in 57, 69 and 70 year olds. Meanwhile, 110 people have been admitted to the hospital today for the virus, 15 of whom are at the pediatric level. Meanwhile, the positive rate is 5.49%.