‘Stealth omicron’ on the rise in North Dakota, but COVID-19 cases remain low – Bismarck Tribune

The BA.2 omicron subvariant of the coronavirus is beginning to assert itself in North Dakota, and health officials are on guard.

The subvariant that's known to be even more infectious than the original omicron has caused new outbreaks in Europe and Asia and is now the dominant cause of COVID-19 in the U.S.,accounting for more than half of recent cases that have undergone the"sequencing" process through which variants are determined,according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The so-called "stealth omicron" hasn't reached that level yet in North Dakota -- accounting for only about 5% of all specimens recently sequenced -- but confirmed cases are on the rise, according toKirby Kruger, head of the Health Department's disease control division and forensic pathology section.The coronavirus and its variants and subvariants have been slower to arrive in North Dakota than in some other parts of the country throughout the pandemic.

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About 5-10% of total positive COVID-19 tests weekly in North Dakota typically undergo the sequencing process, enough to give state health officials a sufficient sample size. State data shows 45 confirmed BA.2 cases, up eight from last week. At the beginning of the month, there were 14 cases.

"When looking only at the most recent specimens to be sequenced by our lab, we are starting to see a greater percentage of BA.2," Kruger said. "Of the specimens collected on or after March 20 and determined to be omicron, 27.5% were BA.2. So we are starting to see a greater proportion of BA.2."

Other known variants in North Dakota besides omicron are alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon and mu, though there have been no cases of any but delta for months.

Scientists say one reason the BA.2 subvariant has gained ground is that its about 30% more contagious than the original omicron, according to The Associated Press. But it doesnt seem to cause more severe disease than the original, and vaccines appear just as effective against it. Unvaccinated people are at far greater risk.

"Because it is more infectious, we are watching to see if this subvariant may drive another increase in cases here," Kruger said.

"One additional monoclonal antibody has been found to be ineffective against the BA.2 subvariant," he added. "Vaccination and booster doses remain our best tool to prevent serious illness and hospitalizations."

Federal datashows that North Dakotacontinues to have some of the worst COVID-19 vaccination rates in the country: 65.3% of adults in the state are fully vaccinated, with the rate for all vaccine-eligible people -- age 5 and older -- at 58.8%.Neither rate increased over the week.The national averages are 75.5% and 69.7%, respectively.

COVID-19 booster shots are recommended for people 12 and older. North Dakota's booster rate is 41.7%, compared to 46.6% nationally.The state rate is unchanged from last week.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week authorized second booster doses of Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for people age 50 and older, and for those age 12 and older with weakened immune systems. The CDC endorsed the additional booster. North Dakota's Health Department is urging eligible people to consider it.

Real-world data from Israel shows that an additional booster dose is safe and life-saving," state Immunization Director Molly Howellsaid. "Mortality due to the omicron variant in this data set was significantly lower -- a 78% reduction -- in those ages 60 and older in Israel who received an additional booster dose.

Molly Howell, the North Dakota Department of Health's immunization program manager

Weekly data

BA.2 isn't pushing COVID-19 cases up yet in North Dakota.

The Health Department's now-weekly coronavirus dashboard shows 193 new cases over the past week, compared with the previous three weekly totals of 242, 336 and 555 new cases, respectively.

The dashboard posted Friday showed that coronavirus patients made up just 2.5% of occupied inpatient beds statewide and about 6% of ICU beds. There were 19 COVID-19 admissions during the week, down from 32 the previous week and 56 the week before that.The two hospitals in Bismarck as of Thursday had atotalof six staffed inpatient hospital beds available and five intensive care unit beds open.

There have been 239,861 confirmed COVID-19 cases in North Dakota during the pandemic that began in March 2020. Data posted by the CDC shows 2,245 virus-related deaths, 13 more than last week. County-level death data is not available.

The state no longer reports the number of active COVID-19 cases, as part of its recent shift from daily public reporting to weekly reporting.

The data reported to the public now emphasizes trends over time and severity of disease, rather than daily case counts and test positivity rate -- data that state health officials say could be skewed by the fact that results from widely available COVID-19 home test kits are not required to be reported to the state.

More information

County-level COVID-19 risks determined by theCDC can be found athttps://bit.ly/3Clifrq. Burleigh and Morton counties both are considered at low risk, as is most of the state.

State Health Department guidance and resources for businesses is athttps://bit.ly/3w0DpKj.

Go tohttps://www.ndvax.orgor call 866-207-2880 to see where COVID-19 vaccine is available. Information on free public testing and free test kits is athealth.nd.gov/covidtesting. More detailed pandemic information is atwww.health.nd.gov/coronavirusandhttps://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.

Reach News Editor Blake Nicholson at 701-250-8266 or blake.nicholson@bismarcktribune.com.

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'Stealth omicron' on the rise in North Dakota, but COVID-19 cases remain low - Bismarck Tribune