The BA.2 strain of the coronavirus dominates COVID-19 infections in Quebec. This mutation remains more likely to interfere with the results of rapid diagnostic tests than other variants of the virus.
The prevalence of this Omicron variant subline is now approximately 83% in Quebec, according to the latest sequencing data from the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ). These data are comparable to those observed elsewhere in Canada and around the world.
BA.2 has since been spreading across the country since last December, to the point of becoming the main culprit of the sixth wave. More contagious than the Omicron BA.1 variant, responsible for the wave at Christmas, this new mutation of the virus is however not more dangerous, according to the World Health Organization.
The BA.2 has the particularity of reducing the accuracy of rapid screening tests, which has earned it the nickname “stealth” variant.
The vaccines are also effective against one or the other of the sub-variants of Omicron, also note the experts from the INPSQ.
To see in video