Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron viruses are all different variants of SARS-CoV-2, shortened by the World Health Organization ( WHO ) to COVID-19.  The current BA.5 dominant virus is a subvariant of the Omicron subvariant.    Read this summary   by WHO to learn about the evolution of COVID-19. In August of last year, 2021, WHO was especially concerned about the emerging Delta variant, and had already designated variants Eta, Iota, Kappa and Lambda, plus 13 additional variants, or 25 variants in all.  Then came Omicron to completely dominate.   In November of 2021 the state of the field was: While not every one of the thousands of COVID-19 variants gets a Greek letter, the list of them has piled up to omicron, the 15th symbol on the Greek alphabet. Alpha, beta, gamma delta and omicron are all currently labeled as “variants of concern,” the highest alert level from the World Health Organization. There are two other ranking stages underneath that one: “variants of interest” and “vari

   From  Worldometer  (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):            DAY    USA    WORLD      Brazil      India      South Africa June     9     1093     4732         1185        246       82 July    22      1205     7128         1293      1120     572 Aug    12      1504     6556        1242        835     130 Sept     9      1208      6222       1136       1168       82 Oct     21      1225      6849         571        703       85 Nov    25       2304    12025        620        518      118 Dec     30       3880    14748       1224       299      465 Jan      14        4142    15512         1151        189       712 Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107      398 Mar     2        1989     9490        1726       110      194 April   6         906     11787         4211       631       37 May    4         853    13667        3025      3786      59   June   1         287    10637         2346      3205      95  July   7          251      8440        1595         817     411

Just when you thought that this pandemic might soon be over, scientists have found the  BA.2 virus, another subvariant of the Omicron variant , which could well be a little more contagious and, this is the bad part, more virulent, perhaps in the range of the Delta variant.  Plus, vaccinations are not as effective, even though a booster helps to prevent a person from death even if infected.  Current tests seem not to work as well, and it is possible that this is something new and not directly related to Omicron.  It's too early to tell if all that is true, but be aware. Early signs hint that this  B.2, named the Stealth Subvariant, might be behind the sudden jump of new cases in Denmark.    Early this month  Denmark  decided that the risk of dying from COVID-19 had dropped to a safe level so even while new cases remained a concern, they removed all restrictions to return to normality.  No need for indoor masks, ignore vaccine passports and open up nightclubs.  Not smart: Yesterday,

         From  Worldometer  (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):     DAY    USA    WORLD      Brazil      India      South Africa June     9     1093     4732         1185        246       82 July    22      1205     7128         1293      1120     572 Aug    12      1504     6556        1242        835     130 Sept     9      1208      6222       1136       1168       82 Oct     21      1225      6849         571        703       85 Nov    25       2304    12025        620        518      118 Dec     30       3880    14748       1224       299      465 Jan      14         4142     15512       1151        189      712 Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107      398 Mar     2        1989     9490        1726       110      194 April   6         906     11787         4211       631       37 May    4         853     13667         3025     3786     59   June   1         287    10637         2346      3205      95  July   7          251      8440        1595        817       411 A