Rightways: Latest Covid-19 Omicron BA.5 variant has landed Malaysia! Understanding the Omicron BA.5 subvariant

Five things we've learned about the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron variants

Malaysia entering new Covid-19 wave as Omicron BA.5 variant hits

Malaysia is entering a new Covid-19 wave, with the Omicron BA.5 variant already present in the country.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the ministry had already detected five BA.5 variants through genomic sequencing as of June 30.

"This means that BA.5 is already present in the country. These cases were found through genomic sequencing on positive cases between May and June.

"There is a big possibility that BA.5 has already spread widely in Malaysia," he told a press conference at Parliament today.

Meanwhile, Khairy said the country has seen a 31 per cent increase in Covid-19 cases from July 3 to 7.

He informed that hospitalisations had also increased by 13.7 per cent, from 835 patients last week to 968 patients this week.

"A majority of the cases are in categories one and two. This is something that we have expected," he said.

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KUALA LUMPUR: Five cases of the fast-spreading Covid-19 Omicron BA.5 variant have been detected in the country, says Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

He warned the public that the ministry expected the number of Covid-19 cases to rise in the next few weeks as the newer Omicron variants spread easily.

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Apart from these five cases, other cases of Omicron sub-lineage variants that have been detected were six cases of BA.2.12.1 and two incidents of BA.5.2.

“All these cases were detected between May and June. However, there are no cases of sub-lineage Omicron BA.4 recorded so far.

ALSO READ: Bracing for another wave of Covid-19 infections

“We are expecting that new infections will increase due to Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, especially the BA.5. This is because Omicron BA.5 spreads easily compared with previous Omicron variants BA.1 and BA.2,” he told a press conference here yesterday.

Khairy said the new Covid-19 wave should not be taken lightly as 4,020 cases were reported just on July 7.

ALSO READ: Many having second thoughts on second booster

From July 3 to 7, the ministry had already recorded 14,967 cases, which is an increase of 31% compared with the previous week’s 11,394 cases, he added.

There was also a 13.7% increase in hospital admissions to 968 patients during this period from the 835 patients in the previous week. Ten deaths were recorded.

He added that those who have completed their Covid-19 vaccination or had been infected previously could also be infected with this variant.

“Those who have not taken their booster, especially senior citizens and people who have comorbidities, should get their booster shot, as it is vital against the new wave of Omicron BA.5.

“A total of 7,393,199 (31.40%) people have not taken their first booster shot while 151,018 (6.06%) individuals have received their second booster shot as at July 7,” he said.

Khairy also said that the ministry’s technical committee was still looking into the need for a second booster shot among those aged 60 and below without any illnesses, while vaccination for those aged five years and below was still not recommended.

However, he said there were some people who used a loophole with the excuse of travelling to get a second booster shot.

The second booster is available free of charge at registered private vaccination centres listed at https://vaksincovid.protecthealth.com.my/find.

For those aged 18 to 59 in the immunocompromised category, Khairy advised they undergo an evaluation first before getting the second booster shot.

He also said that as at July 3, 4,001 patients who have taken the Paxlovid antiviral medicine showed no serious side effects.

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Understanding the Omicron BA.5 subvariant

Malaysia is seeing a wave of new Covid-19 infections ever since two Omicron sub-lineage variants were first detected in the country last month.

The Omicron BA.5 sub-lineage has been pushing up cases everywhere from the United States to nearby Singapore.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in its weekly epidemiological update on July 6, the BA.5 is present in 83 countries.
“Although BA.4 is also rising globally, the rate of increase is not as high as that of BA.5.
“BA.4 has been detected in 73 countries, and now accounts for 12% of all sequences submitted during week 25 (up from 11% in the previous week).
“BA.4 and BA.5 share similar mutations in SARS-CoV-2 spike but have different mutations in non-spike regions,” it said.
There is no evidence yet regarding any change in severity with BA.4, BA.5 or BA.2.12.1 as compared to BA.2. StarPicks APU grads are media and communication experts of the future
However, the rise in the prevalence of these three sub-lineages had coincided with an increase in cases in several WHO regions.
“In some countries, the rise in cases also resulted in a surge in hospitalisation, ICU admissions and deaths,” WHO said.
While studies are still being conducted, early data has shown that the BA.5 could be the most contagious variant so far.
A study in the New England Journal of Medicine, published on July 7, found that the three subvariants substantially “escape” neutralising antibodies from vaccination and infection.
“Moreover, neutralising antibody titers against the BA.4 or BA.5 subvariant and (to a lesser extent) against the BA.2.12.1 subvariant were lower than titers against the BA.1 and BA.2 subvariants, which suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has continued to evolve with increasing neutralisation escape,” according to the study titled “Neutralisation Escape by SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Subvariants BA.2.12.1, BA.4, and BA.5”.
Reports suggest that the variants’ ability to evade immunity vaccines may cause a surge in infections.
Fever, runny nose, cough, sore throat, headaches, muscle pain and fatigue are some of the symptoms.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said on Friday that Covid-19 infections could increase, especially those caused by BA.5.
BA.5 was first detected in South Africa in February.
It has since become the dominant variant in driving infections up in the United States and most parts of Europe.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that BA.4 and BA.5 were estimated to make up a combined 70.1% of the variants in the United States as of July 2.
In Singapore, its Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on July 5 that about half of the new cases in the republic were due to the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants. He estimated that this could go up to 80% this week.