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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday that the BA.5 variant of Omicron was estimated to account for 81.9% of the coronavirus variants circulating in the United States in the week ending July 23. Stated.
This was higher than the prevalence of 75.9% estimated in the previous week.
BA.5 is spiking new infections worldwide and has been shown to be particularly good at circumventing the immune protection conferred by vaccination or previous infections.
What you need to know about Omicron’s vaccine-resistant variant BA.5
Based on the data, Omicron subvariant BA.4 was estimated to account for 12.9% of prevalent variants in the United States.
The US Food and Drug Administration has asked vaccine manufacturers to target the two currently prevalent subvariants for fall season booster doses.
OMICRON BA.5 Subvariant Proliferation, White House Pledges to Secure Access to Boosters, Tests
US health officials are also urging people over the age of 50 to get booster injections so they can get another “bivalent” booster designed specifically to fend off Omicron later this year. He added that he would not be hindered.