• COVID-19 Evolving Over Time
• BA.1, BA.2, BA.4, BA.5, and BQ.1.1? Omicron and Its Subvariants
• VOC and VOI?
• De-escalated Variants
• Current Situation in Germany
• Outlook: Will Omicron Remain the Dominant Variant?
• What Can I Do to Protect Myself?
• Order Rapid Tests Online at Low Prices

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, increasingly new virus variants have spread rapidly. While the Alpha variant was prevalent in late 2020, the Omicron variant is now dominant in most European countries. But which variants exist? Which are currently considered concerning? And which variants could affect us in the future? Here you'll find a comprehensive overview of all the important information about the different variants.

Table of Contents:

1. COVID-19 Evolving Over Time
2. BA.1, BA.2, BA.4, and BA.5? Omicron and Its Subvariants
3. VOC and VOI?
4. De-escalated Variants
5. Current Situation in Germany
6. Outlook: Will Omicron Remain the Dominant Variant?
7. What Can I Do to Protect Myself?
8. Order Rapid Tests Online at Low Prices

COVID-19 Evolving Over Time

The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in 2020 paralyzed the entire world. It spread rapidly, led to severe illness and deaths, and brought the economy to a standstill. Over time, not only the efficiency of urgent countermeasures changed, but the virus itself also evolved. Through mutations, changes occurred in genetic material, leading to the emergence of various variants.

Alpha (B.1.1.7): The Alpha virus variant was first discovered in the United Kingdom in autumn 2020. It was more transmissible than the original virus variant. Additionally, mortality rates – regardless of age – were significantly higher, as reported by infektionsschutz.de. By spring 2021, it was the clearly dominant variant, but is now rarely detected.

Beta (B.1.351): The Beta variant was identified in South Africa in late 2020 and was also characterized by higher transmissibility.

Delta (B.1.617.2): The Delta variant was discovered in India in October 2020. This virus variant spread extensively in many countries. It had significantly higher transmissibility than the original virus or the Alpha variant. In Germany, it was almost completely superseded by Omicron.

Omicron (B.1.1.529): This variant was first identified in South Africa in November 2021. Omicron is characterized by an unusually high number of mutations – compared to the original variant from Wuhan. Some mutations in this variant have increased transmissibility and can better evade immune defenses. This applies, for example, to the Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5. Omicron is currently the globally dominant COVID-19 variant.

Other Variants: Other variants that were also discovered include the Kappa, Gamma, Lambda, and Mu variants. The Kappa variant (B.1.617.1) is a lineage of the B.1.617 variant, which also gave rise to the Delta variant. However, it now counts as a de-escalated variant, as explained below. The German Ministry of Health provides information about this. The Mu (or Mu) variant (B.1.621) was discovered in Colombia in 2020, where it was dominant, but did not spread to other countries, as Aerzteblatt reports. In August 2020, the C.37 mutation, Lambda, was discovered in Peru. In June 2021, it was responsible for 82% of infections there. However, it is rarely spread in European countries, as infektionsschutz.de reports. The Gamma variant (P.1) was discovered in Brazil in November 2020, where it caused many infections. There are isolated cases worldwide, with numbers in Germany remaining consistently below 0.1%.

According to the German Ministry of Health, the different coronavirus variants are named after letters of the Greek alphabet to avoid stigmatizing the countries in which they were discovered.

BA.1, BA.2, BA.4, BA.5, and BQ.1.1? Omicron and Its Subvariants

Since January 2022, it has been the globally dominant virus variant: Omicron, a variant of the betacoronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The general designation of Omicron according to Pango nomenclature, the naming system for SARS-CoV variants, is B.1.1.529. Omicron itself has the subvariants BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2, and BA.4/5.

BA.1, the first discovered variant, was superseded in early 2022 by its subvariant BA.1.1, as the WHO reported in its coronavirus situation reports. BA.1.1, in turn, was superseded in March 2022 by BA.2, which was then superseded at the end of June 2022 by the currently dominant BA.4 and BA.5 variants.

Even BA.1 showed higher transmissibility than Delta, as the United Kingdom Security Agency (UKHS) reported. In adults, it caused illnesses with lower severity. Even in unvaccinated and previously uninfected individuals, the hospitalization risk was only one-third that of Delta. Additionally, vaccine effectiveness was lower.

According to Reuters and the WHO, BA.2 could also infect multiply vaccinated persons, although disease severity was not noticeably worse than with BA.1. Compared to BA.1, BA.2 had twice the growth advantage.

There is evidence that BA.4 and BA.5 could have a similarly high increase in growth rate, as the Pharmaceutical Journal reports. Additionally, indications suggest that the incubation period may extend to one week, and infected individuals increasingly report coughing. The BA.5 variant is dominant and globally responsible for COVID-19 waves, as Apotheken-Umschau reports. In contrast, the BA.4 variant is less prevalent, though infections are increasing.

In early June, the BA.2.75 subvariant was discovered in India, presumably a subvariant of BA.2, as reported by Bavarian Broadcasting. The variant spread rapidly there, and isolated cases have since been identified worldwide. In Germany, the proportion remains below 1 percent. Due to multiple mutations in the spike protein, this variant has particularly good immune evasion, as t-online explains.

Another subtype of the BA.2 subvariant is XBB. According to t-online, this subtype is currently spreading particularly in Singapore. According to current studies, this variant is best able to evade established immune protection. There are concerns that vaccinations, medications, or previous infections may no longer protect against it.

The Omicron subtype BQ.1.1, first detected in Germany in September, currently concerns experts the most. It has higher transmissibility advantage than BA.5. Therefore, it is suspected that it could replace BA.5 as the dominant subvariant and potentially be responsible for the next wave as early as November. Learn more here.

Overall, Omicron demonstrated that while the number of infections increased significantly, hospitalizations and deaths did not increase proportionally, as the WHO reports. Nevertheless, rapid spread in many countries poses a major challenge to health systems. For vulnerable groups, increased morbidity could also be possible.

Generally, the overall risk from Omicron is "very high" and the variant is classified as a "Variant of Concern" (VOC), meaning a concerning variant.

VOC and VOI?

As mentioned, viruses change through mutations. When genetic material changes significantly in certain properties, so-called concerning variants (Variants of Concern, VOC) emerge. Such changes can include, for example, increased transmissibility or easier evasion of the immune system. This also includes, for example, evasion of vaccination protection, as the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) explains. Variants that do not exhibit these particular features are only considered variants of interest (Variants of Interest, VOI). Both types of variants are monitored, for example, by the World Health Organization (WHO).

De-escalated Variants

In addition to the variants mentioned, there are additional SARS-CoV-2 variants that are de-escalated, or downgraded, by the WHO and the RKI. They exhibit at least one of these criteria: no longer in circulation, circulating without impact on the overall epidemiological situation, or no evidence of concerning properties. The RKI provides an overview of these variants.

Current Situation in Germany

In Germany, according to infektionsschutz.de, the Omicron variant has been dominant since 2022. With this, it has almost completely displaced other variants. The BA.5 subvariant in particular is dominant in Germany. Read more about this here. However, the proportion of the BA.4 variant is also steadily increasing. The relative share of the BQ.1.1 subvariant is currently still very low but doubles every week. The COVID-19 situation in Germany is monitored by the RKI as part of so-called coronavirus surveillance.

In January 2022, Omicron accounted for 75% of cases. Delta followed with 20%, and other variants such as Alpha and Beta accounted for less than one percent. The German Ministry of Health provides this information.

Outlook: Will Omicron Remain the Dominant Variant?

As the NDR reports, citing the WHO, the Omicron BA.2 variant accounts for the vast majority of all analyzed cases worldwide. In Germany and the European Union, it is the clearly dominant variant. Other previously dominant variants such as Delta have been largely pushed back. In South Africa, according to SRF, an Omicron BA.5 variant wave with high infection numbers began in April. Meanwhile, numbers have declined, but Omicron remains dominant there.

In South America, the Lambda and Mu variants were particularly widespread. The Mu variant, however, remained primarily limited to Colombia, whereas Lambda spread to other countries on the continent. Lambda cases were discovered worldwide, but only sporadically, as Omicron remains dominant. According to the RKI and WHO, Lambda and Mu are classified as variants under surveillance (VOI) and could potentially become concerning in the future. However, it is now rather Omicron, specifically the BA.5 variant, that is causing concern, as the Konrad Adenauer Foundation reports. It is also responsible for rising infection numbers in North America.

The WHO de-escalated some discovered variants, meaning they currently pose no risk to humanity. This includes, for example, the Kappa variant. The RKI publishes a table of de-escalated variants on its website.

Which virus variants could concern us in the future? Currently, it appears that the Omicron BA.5 variant in particular is responsible for most infections, increases, and COVID-19 waves globally or will be in the future. A new wave caused by this variant is also feared in Germany. Read more about this here. As the Tagesschau reported, a new Omicron variant was supposedly identified in June in India, BA.2.75. However, the new subtype BQ.1.1 is particularly expected to be the successor to the BA.5 variant and could even displace it as the dominant variant.

What Can I Do to Protect Myself?

As the German Ministry of Health advises, following AHA rules and complete COVID-19 vaccination with booster shots are the best protection against the virus and its variants. The AHA rules include maintaining distance (A), practicing hygiene (H), and wearing a mask in daily life (A).

Booster vaccinations are particularly recommended now, especially with an eye toward autumn and a predicted next COVID-19 wave. Read more about this. Since the last vaccination is some time ago for many people, vaccination protection is no longer comprehensive and may not necessarily prevent mild disease courses or reduce the probability of Long COVID.

Another way to protect yourself and others is to use rapid tests, whether in the form of rapid tests provided by authorities, within companies, or as self-tests. According to the Paul Ehrlich Institute, almost all of the rapid tests they examined are able to detect infections with Omicron.

Order Rapid Tests Online at Low Prices

Professional rapid tests are available at parahealth starting at 0.55 € per test and self-tests from 0.72€ per test. Order online now and save. We convince with fast delivery, top quality, and good customer service. Prepare now with antigen tests and ensure greater safety in the pandemic.

---

Recommended Products

• HighTop RSV & Influenza A/B + Corona Kombi Schnelltest 4in1 20 Stück, MHD 12/27 — €37.79
• fluorecare Corona & Influenza A/B & RSV Antigen Kombitest, MHD 04/2027 — €1.77