In June, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants had become dominant in the U.S. The agency revised that statement on July 5 to say that BA.5 accounted for more than half of new cases in the United States. the country.
Experts said that, in general, these subvariants do not show markedly divergent symptoms from previous versions of Omicron. People infected with BA.4 and BA.5 may develop cough, runny nose, sore throat, fatigue, headaches, and muscle aches. However, they are less likely to lose their senses of taste and smell, or experience difficulty breathing, compared to those infected with Delta or other variants of the coronavirus, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a disease specialist. infectious diseases of the University of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Joseph Khabbaza, a pulmonary care physician and critic at the Cleveland Clinic, said people tend to experience upper respiratory symptoms “from the vocal cords to the tip of the nose.” Anecdotally, he said, he has seen more patients with painful sinus congestion and severe sore throat who tested positive for Covid-19 while circulating BA.4 and BA.5. Some of them thought they had streptococcal pharyngitis because they had a lot of pain, he said.
There is still no evidence to indicate that these subvariants cause more serious diseases than previous versions of Omicron. But BA.4 and BA.5 are more contagious, meaning that as more people become infected, both adult and pediatric hospitalizations increase, said Dr. Adam Ratner, director of the infectious diseases division. pediatric patients at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital in NYU Langone. .