but not rised nearly as quickly as omicron did in january. so, we'll have to see ewhether it can out compete omicron. there is data that suggests it might be a bit more contagious. i'm not sure this is going to change the trajectory of the current surge in the united states, which is dropping rapidly. >> it says research in japan say ba.2 should no longer be considered some type of omicron. that it should be looked at as its own variant. significant? >> no. you call it a cousin or you can say it's distant relative. not sure it really matters. it's a mutated virus. it's going to continue to mutate.