Highly Contagious BA 5 Variant Becomes Dominant In U S As Covid Cases

The highly transmissible BA.5 omicron subvariant is now the dominant coronavirus strain in the U. S., accounting for nearly 54% of Covid-19 infections last week, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as cases rise and drug companies work to reformulate vaccines to target new virus strains known for their ability to evade antibodies. Over 16% of U. S. coronavirus tests came back positive on average last week, the highest positivity rate since early February, according to the CDC. BA.4 and BA.5 were first discovered earlier this year in South Africa, where the strains became dominant, and they eventually made their way into the U. S. in late March, though omicron substrain BA.2 remained the dominant variant for several weeks. All three of the substrains have specific mutations in their spike proteins—the part of the virus that binds to the human cell—that help them evade the immune system, with data suggesting BA.5 is even better at escaping antibodies from previous coronavirus infections and vaccines. Countries around the world like the United Kingdom are also seeing a spike in cases as BA.4 and BA.5 become their most prevalent coronavirus strains. BA.4 and BA.5 combined became the dominant Covid-19 substrains in the U. S. two weeks ago, accounting for 55% of cases. A continued spike in Covid-19 cases over the summer. The rise in new subvariants that are even more contagious than previous strains and capable of escaping the immune system suggest “substantial circulation of virus this summer,” Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, told the Wall Street Journal last week. FDA Recommends Covid Boosters Target Highly Contagious Omicron Subvariants—Here’s When You Should Get Your Next Shot (Forbes)What to Know About the Newest, Most Contagious Omicron Subvariants (Time)Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus

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