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Omicron's BA.3 Sublineage Lands in New Jersey

December 20, 2021 • 7:02 am CST
(Precision Vaccinations News)

Boston-based Ginkgo Bioworks confirmed on December 18, 2021, that it has collected, identified, and sequenced three samples containing the novel BA.3 sublineage of the Omicron variant.

These BA.3 samples came from airline passengers from South Africa who arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport in early December 2021.

This finding was the first time the BA.3 sublineage has been identified in North America.

As of December 19, 2021, nine sequences in the BA.3 lineage have been identified globally.

These samples were collected in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and XpresSpa Group, Inc. as part of a SARS-CoV-2 surveillance project that involves the voluntary sampling of arriving international travelers.

State and local public health authorities were alerted about these cases and are taking all appropriate measures to ensure that the individuals receive the health support they need and that the spread of the viral strain is contained to the extent possible.

Dr. Duncan MacCannell, Chief Science Officer for CDC's Office of Advanced Molecular Detection, stated in a related press release, "These first U.S. BA.3 sublineages detected through the traveler-based surveillance program provide insight about the Omicron variant to public health agencies."

"And expands our understanding of the travel-related transmission of SARS-CoV-2 variants."

As of December 20, 2021, COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against Omicron's MA.3 sublineage has not been disclosed.

To date, over 9,000 arriving international travelers have voluntarily participated in the joint air travel COVID-19 surveillance program.

The program continues to collect samples daily.

In addition to samples collected at the airport, participants receive a free home kit to collect a sample 3-5 days after travel that they mail to the lab for PCR testing; positive samples undergo genetic sequencing. 

Furthermore, the CDC recommends that all travelers get tested 3-5 days after international travel.

This program provides virus test results to passengers and public health authorities to help interrupt the chain of transmission in U.S.. communities and detect coronavirus variants entering the U.S.

Note: As of December 19, 2021, TSA checkpoint travel numbers reflect a 16% decrease from pre-pandemic levels recorded in 2019.

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