The BA.5 omicron subvariant now accounts for 65% of circulating COVID-19 strains in the United States, Biden administration officials said Tuesday.
The omicron offshoot is responsible for a recent spike in infections in the U.S., including many reinfections, and has proven more transmissible than the previously dominant subvariant. BA.4, another omicron cousin that has proven able to reinfect people, makes up for about 16% of cases.
SIGNS OF NEW SURGE FROM OMICRON VARIANT OFFSHOOTS ABLE TO REINFECT WITHIN WEEKS
“We do not know yet about the clinical severity of BA.4 and BA.5 in comparison to our other omicron subvariants, but we do know it to be more transmissible and more immune-evading,” said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky. “People with prior infection even with BA.1 or BA.2 are likely still at risk for BA.4 or BA.5.”
The BA.4 and .5 subvariants have driven test positivity rates beyond 17%, indicating a sizable outbreak is underway and that the U.S. is likely to see considerable upticks in new cases in the coming weeks. Hospital admissions due to COVID-19 have doubled since early May, reaching an average of about 5,100 daily over the past week.
Officials on the White House COVID-19 response team urged members of the public who have not yet been vaccinated yet to do so, or to get booster shots if they are eligible. While the vaccines are overall less effective against the omicron variant compared to previous variants, they work just as well against BA.4 and .5 as they do against other omicron subvariants, such as BA.2.
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The administration is also preparing for the rollout of the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines that specifically target omicron, having placed an order with Pfizer for 105 million doses. The Food and Drug Administration is the federal entity that would authorize the new vaccine formulas.
