Subhechcha Ganguly 
The Omicron variant BA.5, referred to as the “great-grandson of Omicron” by Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, co-chairman of the National IMA Covid taskforce, is a sub-lineage of the BF.7. It is thought that Omicron sub-variant BF.7 is what is behind the present Covid boom in several nations, including China. Four cases of this variety have been recorded from India thus far, including two from Gujarat and two from Odisha.
Even though the first instance of this variety was discovered months ago, India has not been severely impacted by the new coronavirus substrain, unlike China. All states and Union Territories have been told by the Center to exercise caution and step up their genome sequencing efforts to detect variations. The Omicron variant BA.5, referred to as the “great-grandson of Omicron” by Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, co-chairman of the National IMA Covid taskforce, is a sub-lineage of the BF.7.
“The great-grandson of Omicron, BF.7, is more capable than the original Omicron of infecting persons who have already been exposed to it or who have received a vaccination. This characteristic is known as immunological evasiveness. Although it has more mutations than Omicron, it is essentially the same virus. There is no proof that it leads to more serious illness, “While speaking to IANS, he said. According to Dr. Jayadevan, Omicron travelled throughout the world in about one and a half months after it was discovered in South Africa in November 2021. The third wave in January-February 2022 was brought on by the BA.2 version, which was originally seen in India in the BA.1 form. Since then, BA.2’s offspring and grandchildren have been circulating around India, but they haven’t made any significant waves.
There is currently no evidence that BF.7 or its predecessor BA.5 have had any influence on India. China’s northern provinces have also reported it. Dr. Jayadevan warned on the latest expanding Covid worry that continued genomic surveillance is necessary – all over the world – firstly because the virus is dynamic and secondly because some persons with weakened immune systems may harbour the virus for extended periods of time.Congestion, a sore throat, a cough, exhaustion, and runny nose are among the most typical symptoms.
