Leading medical authorities are describing a new COVID-19 strain as the “worst variation” yet. This has created an increase of concern since earlier this week, the CDC says the new BA.5 variant is accounting for more than 60 percent of COVID-19 cases making it the dominant strain in the Unites States.
Studies has shown vaccines and previous COVID-19 infections do not offer as much protection against the new BA.5 variant compared to its other variant counterparts. This evolvement of the variant that has allowed it to escape immunity has created an increase in cases as well as hospitalizations. Globally, there has been a 30% increase in cases in the past two weeks, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) reports. . However, studies have not provided any evidence that the BA.5 variant causes more sever symptoms or is more deadly than other COVID-19 variants.
Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House’s COVID-19 response coordinator, stated on Tuesday “BA.5 is something we’re closely monitoring, and most importantly, we know how to manage it”. However, the WHO emphasized that one of the challenges of combatting COVID-19 is a decline in testing which heavily impacts the accuracy to which a country can monitor the new variant.
In a statement, the White House urged people to perform at-home tests before going to big indoor gatherings, traveling, or having indoor contact with immunocompromised people to help prevent the spread of the new variant. Additionally, the CDC recommends all individuals regardless of vaccination status to wear masks in indoor public and community settings.
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