Though BA.2 likely in the region, Whatcom health department awaiting variant test results

Though it is still awaiting confirmation as test samples are sequenced, the Whatcom County Health Department said it is possible that more than half of all new cases in the multi-state region are the BA.2 variant.

That follows the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention trends for what has been seen nationally and regionally for the highly contagious subvariant of Omicron.

“We do not have Whatcom County specific numbers for the BA.2 variant because all test samples are not sequenced,” Whatcom County Co-Health Officer Dr. Greg Thompson told The Bellingham Herald in an email Wednesday, March 30. “The CDC estimates that 55% of all cases nationwide and 59% of cases in our multistate region (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington) are BA.2.”