Okay, let me step in with some reassurance.

1. BA.2 makes hamsters sicker. However, the evidence is that it does not make people sicker. This is probably because a lot of the mildness of omicron is due to population resistance. That is to say, we've had it or been vaccinated and have T-cells that can take out omicron before it does as much damage. This might change, but so far it appears that BA.2 is not more severe than omicron *in the real world*. It is very slightly more transmissible.

2. It does not go undetected by tests. The reason BA.2 is called "stealth omicron" is because it lacks a key gene that makes it easier to distinguish between omicron and other variants. So it's a bit harder to track *as a variant*. COVID tests still detect it. Unfortunately, the "stealth omicron" phrase has caused a lot of harm by making many, many people think it's not detectable.

3. Yes, some experts think BA.2 is different enough from omicron to warrant its own letter. Others don't. It's a borderline case.

4. It appears that people who have had either BA.1 OR Delta have decent short term protection against BA.2 which, fingers crossed, should keep BA.2 from starting another surge. Denmark has a lot of BA.2 and it seems to have slowed down the descent from the omicron surge, but the pattern is still fairly similar of a LOT of people getting it at once and then a sudden drop because everyone got it.

Does that help?