There are growing concerns about a new Omicron subvariant that is even more transmissible, called BA.5. The new subvariant accounts for the majority of COVID-19 cases in the United States and is raising concerns about an increase in the number of hospitalizations.
The White House on Tuesday held a press briefing with its top health experts to address the rise of the subvariant and urged people to get booster shots if they haven’t yet.
BA.5 is a cause for concern because of its increased infectivity and greater ability to evade vaccines and protection from prior infection.
Importantly, however, vaccines still provide significant protection against serious illness and death, especially for people who have received their booster shots.
“There is some talk about BA.5, but it doesn’t represent an entirely new threat that is going to erode all of our protections,” said Josh Michaud, associate director of global health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The White House on Tuesday did not announce any major changes to strategy, instead pointing to the continued use of treatments such as booster shots and Pfizer’s Paxlovid antiviral pills to be effective against the new subvariant as well.
“It’s something like, A, we don’t panic, B, we don’t let it disrupt our lives, but we take it seriously and use the tools we have to reduce it,” the government’s top infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci, said on Tuesday.
Still, some experts are calling for more action from the administration, especially to promote people.
Eric Topol, professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, wrote on Twitter that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) should eventually change the definition of “fully immunized” to highlight the need for more than the original two doses. to be included. Booster Shots.
“Which country has a lower booster rate than Iran, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and 61 others?” He has written. “United States.”
According to CDC data, only about half of American adults who have received their first two shots have received a booster shot.
The uptake for the second booster shot, which is recommended for people 50 and older, is even lower.
Health officials in the Biden administration on Tuesday urged people to get their booster shots to help protect against BA.5. Because protection decreases over time, he said it’s especially important to get the shot if someone’s most recent dose was in 2021, not 2022. They are also discussing opening a second booster shot for people under 50.
According to the New York Times tracker, the number of hospitalizations is already rising as BA.5 rises to nearly 37,000, though still relatively low compared to other points in the pandemic. Deaths and stays in the intensive care unit have so far remained largely flat, despite the high level of cases, which specialists are responsible for protecting vaccines and treatments.
Richard Besser, a former CDC acting director, said that the “huge amount of people becoming infected” would likely increase hospitalization, but he didn’t think it would be “anywhere close to the numbers seen with previous Omrons.” “Bounce. ,
But Besser, who is now CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, noted that prevention of serious illness is catching on in an important way to promote people, “many people are going to experience COVID on the milder side, Given this, the new subvariant has the potential to re-infect even people who already had a previous version of Omicron.
Especially for people at high risk, Besser said BA.5 “is something you should pay attention to and consider taking precautions like wearing a mask indoors when you’re around people.”
With much of the country going on with its normal lives, the Biden administration has not signaled a return to insisting on restrictions such as the mask mandate, although health officials noted on Tuesday that masks provide protection.
Speaking of the new COVID-19 era, Michoud of the Kaiser Family Foundation said, “It is everyone who is making these decisions rather than the political leaders.” “It’s up to you, for better or worse, to decide whether you want to wear a mask if you want to avoid social gatherings.”
Lena Wayne, a public health professor at George Washington University, said such steps should be specifically reserved for people at high risk who are concerned about becoming infected.
“If you are vaccinated and extended, the vaccines are still doing their job, which is to keep you from getting seriously ill,” she said.
Pfizer and Moderna are working on updated vaccines that will better target BA.5, but they are not expected to be available until the earliest fall.
Meanwhile, health officials say people shouldn’t wait for the updated shot and get their booster now, which won’t stop getting a new vaccine once it’s available.
“The reason to get a booster now is to prevent infection,” said CDC director Rochelle Valensky. “There’s a lot of infections right now, now the number of hospitalizations is increasing.”