A new variant is in NSW BE.1 that is even more infectious than BA.4 and BA.5. You can see in the graph below it is growing with respect to BA.4 and BA.5. As noted earlier (see below) the number of Omicron variants has exploded, with so many new names. I estimated some time ago that we had about 300 – 400 variants of Omicron. I have also asked from the outset why BA.2* was not given it’s own Greek letter as it is very different to BA.1*. They are stating to distinguish them now.
BE.1 is a whole class of variants, and as you can see there are BC’s, BD’s, BF’s and the famous BG’s (joke!). We also have all of the recombinant variants called Omicron XA…XZ, and beyond. Most of you would have heard of Omicron XE.
The race in now on with hundreds and hundreds of new variants on Omicron and BA.2* and recombinants to see why is the most infectious, as that one will win the battle for supremicity as it will strave out the others from finding a host.
I would go as far as to say that vaccines are useless now and we will get more and more people infected with 2 or more subvariants and that will lead to a vast numerology of variants.
Yes, it is often said that as variants mutate they get weaker but this is not always the case and especially with recombinant variants that I so warned against in early 2021, anything is possible because the recombinant variants represent a quantum leap in genetic phase space. With so much bs going on around the world, I believe we (humans) will generate a new more virulent (deadly) infectious strain of the coronavirus.
What we need to do is to contain the spread of the coronavirus by limiting travel, and by wearing masks. Ultimately #zerocovid is the only solution to get rid of covid and this is why China says it will stay zerocovid for the next 5 years no matter what it costs economically.
There is a joke going around in China about Australia (and it’s states separately) and New Zealand so foolishly throwing away zerocovid. Zerocovid is the solution to living with(out) the virus. To get back would take a hard 8-9 weeks lockdown. The alternative is a lot of sick people. The onset of neurological/brain injury will shock the world.
I warned Western Australia and Australia from living with the virus. Masks will become a permanent fixture even though they have yet to re-introduce them in Australia. I believe Australia has let the virus rip because it thought that herd immunity was possible. It is not and it can only be eradicated now by trying to go back to zerocovid. That may no longer be possible if the world is not prepared to go into complete lockdown for 2-3 months simultaneously, so what we are left with in Australia is about 50 people dying every day, and constant new waves of variants. And even though omicron may be milder than the previous variants delta, alpha etc., it can cause organ damage and 10-15% of Australians will be suffering from long covid. That is about 2.5 million to 3.5 million people. Anywhere between 250,000 to up yo 1 million may be almost completely debilitated. Lots of the covid infected will have brain shrinkages, and eventually we may uncover a new type of Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease.
