Coronavirus variant Centaurus discovered in Netherlands for the first time

The BA.2.75 variant of the coronavirus, also called Centaurus, has now also been identified in the Netherlands. The variant was found in a sample from the Northeast Gelderland region, the RIVM announced on Wednesday. The sample was obtained on June 26, and the RIVM said it would ask the local branch of the GGD if it was still possible to conduct source and contact tracing.

BA.2.75 is a sub-variant of the Omicron variant BA.2. It has already been found in many countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Little is known about the BA.2.75 variant. "It also seems that this variant can more easily circumvent the body's built-up defense against the coronavirus due to small, specific changes," said the RIVM.

The first Covid-19 vaccines were made for older variants, such as Alpha and Delta, which are hardly present anymore. Vaccine manufacturers have been working in recent months to update their vaccines for the Omicron variant. Those new drugs are likely to be approved in September, the European Medicines Agency expects.

Until then, the regulator has called on people to get their second booster shot if they qualify for one and have not yet received it. In the Netherlands, people from the age of 60, residents of nursing homes, adults with Down syndrome and adults with a serious immune disorder can receive the additional booster. Almost half of the people who are allowed to get that extra shot have done so.

The Netherlands is now in a summer wave of the coronavirus pandemic which started at the beginning of June. According to the RIVM, the peak of the wave is now in sight. The increase in the number of infections is attributed to three other versions of the Omicron variant. The BA.5 variant is most common, while the BA.4 and BA.2.12.1 variants have also been observed. They are also better able to circumvent immunity against Covid-19.

People do not suffer from more severe symptoms of the disease when they become infected by one of those three sub-variants, compared to the first Omicron variant. It is not yet known whether this also applies to Centaurus.