The United Kingdom has designated AY.4.2 as a COVID variant under investigation, citing evidence that it may be more transmissible than Delta, Reuters reported Friday.
“The designation was made on the basis that this sub-lineage has become increasingly common in the UK in recent months, and there is some early evidence that it may have an increased growth rate in the UK compared to Delta,” UKHSA reportedly said.
“While evidence is still emerging, so far it does not appear this variant causes more severe disease or renders the vaccines currently deployed any less effective.”
AY.4.2 COVID variant in US
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AY.4.2 is still “very rare” in the United States.
“It is well below 0.05 percent of all our sequenced viruses, with less than 10 reported in our database so far,” the CDC said in a statement sent to Insider on Wednesday.
