NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!
The White House said Tuesday it will ensure that Americans continue to have easy access to COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and testing to contain the rapidly spreading Omicron BA.5 subvariant that now constitutes the majority of North American cases. Americans.
Health officials say there are indications that the subvariant may be better at escaping immunity, including previous infections.
BA.5 is estimated to account for 65 percent of coronavirus variants circulating in the United States last week, said Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
BA.5 DOMINANT US SUBVARIANT OMICRON
Sub-variants BA.5 and BA.4 together accounted for more than 80% of the circulating variants last week, with BA.4 16%, Walensky told reporters at a news session at the White House.
The average seven-day daily hospital admission for COVID-19 has doubled in the United States since early May, he said.
BA.5 does not appear to be associated with higher disease severity or hospitalizations compared to more recent subvariants, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, an infectious disease expert who is President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser.
People expect to be tested for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at an emerging testing site in New York City, USA, July 11, 2022. (Reuters / Brendan McDermid)
“Variants will continue to emerge. The virus is circulating around the world and in this country. We must not let it disrupt our lives, but we cannot deny that it is a reality that we must face,” Fauci said in the same information session.
Officials said they are prioritizing booster injections, doing home tests and high-quality masks widely available, and supporting immunocompromised people.
“We can prevent serious illness, we can keep people out of the hospital and especially out of the ICU, we can save lives, and we can minimize the disruptions caused by COVID-19. Even in the face of BA.5, the tools we have continued to work, ”said Ashish Jha, response coordinator for the White House’s COVID-19.
“We are at a point in the pandemic where most deaths from COVID-19 can be prevented,” he said.
The White House said the widespread circulation of BA.5 means new cases are likely to increase in the coming weeks.
The FDA wants the promoters of COVID-19 to focus on OMICRON BA.4, BA.5 SUBVARIANTS
“Immunity decreases, whether it’s post-infection immunity or post-vaccine immunity, although immediate protection after infection or vaccine is generally good protection,” Fauci said. “If you were infected with BA.1, you really don’t have many good protections against BA.4 / 5.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recommended manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines to change the design of their booster injections starting in the fall to better combat the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.
Getting a second booster vaccine now would not lead a person to not be eligible for a variant-specific vaccine, Jha said.