There is a novel coronavirus variant EG.5 (aka “Eris”) that dominates US infections identified in China Detected in the US in February, detected in April, now 17% or more The number of people infected with the new coronavirus infection in the country is the highest.
Here’s what you need to know about the new variant.
How do the symptoms compare to other COVID-19 infections?
“We have never seen a radical breakthrough. [EG.5] It will either cause new symptoms, or it will look very different.” Dr. David Alan WallA professor of infectious diseases at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill told Yahoo Life. “I don’t see anything to indicate that the virus is evolving into something more dangerous.”
EG.5 is a subvariant of the Omicron coronavirus family and is therefore fairly closely related to the XBB subspecies that has been circulating for some time and was dominant a few months ago. Symptoms alone cannot tell you which variant you have (which requires genome sequencing, which is not a routine part of clinical care). However, one can expect the symptoms of EG.5 to be very similar. What we learned from other novel coronavirus variantsinclude:
“We are very early in the game.” Dr. Jessica JustmanAn epidemiologist at the Columbia University School of Public Health and a senior technical director at ICAP, he told Yahoo Life. “But from everything I’ve seen, read, and heard, this variant is more virulent than other recent variants, can cause more severe symptoms, and cause more hospitalizations and deaths. There’s no reason to think it’s high quality.”
The World Health Organization Classified EG.5 as a “Featured Variant”. But it doesn’t appear to pose as much of a public health threat as other variants, he said. But while the EG.5 doesn’t look any more dangerous, experts say it’s not that weak either. If your symptoms from EG.5 seem milder than those you’ve experienced with previous COVID-19 infections, it’s not because the virus is running out of steam, but as a result of the resilience you’ve built yourself. There is a possibility.
“It’s very difficult to interpret new symptoms with new submutants because not only are the viruses different, but we are also different. We have more immunity,” Wall explains. . “If you’ve had previous Omicron shots, a vaccine, or a booster that boosts your immune system, the virus affects you differently. It may reduce deep respiratory infections.”
Is Eris more or less contagious?
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson told Politico “There is no evidence that EG.5 may spread more readily, and currently available treatments and vaccines are expected to remain effective against this variant.”
So why is the number of infected people increasing?Every summer there is a slight increase in the number of new coronavirus cases, experts say recent rise Not so surprising.
“If you look at the graph of hospital admissions going back three years, this is the smallest increase ever,” Justman said. “[There were] As of July 29, there were 9,000 hospitalizations for the novel coronavirus last week in the United States. It was 45,000 at the same time last summer. In other words, completely different digits. This is a very small increase. “
Due to the prevalence of home testing kits that can be used outside clinics, the number of new cases likely underestimates the number of new cases that actually exist, Justman said, adding that the number of hospitalizations He points out that higher quality data, such as hospitalizations and number of hospitalizations, are less reliable. Emergency room visit. Therefore, it may be some time before we get a full picture of how prevalent EG.5 really is.
“The way COVID-19 works is that first the number of cases rises, then the number of hospitalizations rises, usually between one and two weeks after the rise in cases. It will take at least two more weeks,” she said. “So it’s a bit premature to be confident that this won’t increase mortality, but there’s no evidence yet that it actually does.”
Will vaccines and boosters protect me from EG.5?
The bivalent vaccines currently in use are BA.5 Subvariantwhich accounted for most of the coronavirus infections last summer, still appears to offer some protection because there is enough overlap between these omicron submutants, Wall said. ing.
new vaccine Scheduled to be released this fall Designed to counter XBB, one of the subvariants removed from EG.5.
“It’s very difficult to have a complete picture of all the major subspecies in circulation on the planet, but XBB, at least for now, is one step closer to a kind of protection against subspecies in circulation.” says Wall.
An ideal vaccine would keep us completely free of infection, but breakthrough cases can occur even among those who complete the vaccination. But the important thing to keep in mind, experts say, is that vaccines are an important line of defense against serious illness, hospitalization and death.
“Vaccines and boosters are always helpful,” Justman said. “They raise antibody levels, give reminders, and tune cell-mediated immunity, especially T cells, to better condition them to fight any mutations.”
What does this new variant tell us about future variants and future COVID-19 infections?
As with past COVID-19 seasons, we need to prepare for a further spike in infections in late fall and winter. And because the SARS-CoV-2 virus mutates so rapidly, new variants are likely to emerge in the future, Justman said.
“I’m really happy that we’re paying attention, because at some point, there could be, or will be, a different variant,” Wall said. “Past infections and vaccines will produce variants that our immunity can’t really recognize. That’s why we have to be agile.”