Covid-19
Omicron BA.5 Makes Up 82% Of COVID Variants In US: CDC
(CTN News) – For the week ended July 23, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the BA.5 subvariant of Omicron made up 81.9% of circulating coronavirus variants.
The prevalence was higher than the 75.9% estimated the week prior.
It has shown to be particularly good at evading the immune protection afforded either by vaccinations or prior infections and is responsible for a surge of new infections worldwide.
Based on the data, Omicron subvariant BA.4 accounts for 12.9% of circulating variants in the United States.
The FDA has asked vaccine manufacturers to target the two dominant subvariants for a possible booster dose this fall.
Those over 50 are also encouraged to get a booster shot, adding that doing so would not preclude them from getting another “bivalent” booster later this year to ward off Omicron.
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