A new sub-variant of COVID-19, the BA.2 variant, has been detected in Washington, health officials announced Monday.
, mutations occur in the coronavirus’ genome all the time, but only occasionally change the characteristic of a virus. If a virus in an area undergoes enough meaningful mutations, scientists may determine it to be a new variant.
The mutations, lineages and variants can be viewed like a family tree, with the first SARS-CoV-2 virus being the common ancestor—except all the branches on this tree cause COVID-19. The Washington State Department of Health says, as of Monday, two cases of the BA.2 variant have been detected in the state. DOH has not provided further information about where the infections occurred.
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