GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — There’s a new variant of COVID-19 that’s overtaken the Omicron variant as the dominant strain in the United States.
Bellin Health’s Dr. Robert Mead says the BA.5 subvariant of Omicron is the most transmissible form of the virus yet.
“It’s very immune evasive,” Mead says. “If you’ve had the virus before, or if you’ve been vaccinated and boosted, it gets around the immunity from that.”
It’s caused concern elsewhere in the country.
“We’re seeing more issues with lung conditions than we did with the initial strain of Omicron,” said Mead. “Elsewhere in the country we are seeing an increase in hospitalizations and ICU admissions.”
Despite the variant evading immunity, Mead says he still recommends the vaccine, arguing that vaccinated people are less likely to develop severe infections.
Dr. Mead adds that there hasn’t been a jump in hospitalizations locally yet.
Comments