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Context

• At least four cases of the Omicron sub-variant BF.7, the Covid strain driving China's current surge of cases, have been detected in India so far.

What do we know about BF.7?

• When viruses mutate, they create lineages and sub-lineages — like the main trunk of the SARS-CoV-2 tree sprouting branches and sub-branches. The BF.7 is the same as BA.5.2.1.7, which is a sub-lineage of the Omicron sub-lineage BA.5.
• The BF.7 sub-variant has a 4.4-fold higher neutralisation resistance than the original D614G variant — meaning that in a lab setting, antibodies from a vaccinated or infected individual were less likely to destroy BF.7 than the original Wuhan virus that spread worldwide in 2020.

Implications

• The mutations in the spike protein have slowed down, there hasn’t been a massive change in around a year. This is why we haven’t seen any new variant emerge, just sub-lineages. 
• But SARS-CoV-2 is now a human virus and it is here to stay. There could be an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the winters, when we usually see an increase in all respiratory infections.”

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-health/covid-bf-7-omicron-sub-variant-china-virus-8337055/

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