BA.5: The Omicron Subvariant Driving Up Cases — And Reinfections

Short Wave

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🗓️ 12 July 2022

⏱️ 8 minutes

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Summary

BA.5 is now the dominant SARS-CoV-2 subvariant in the United States. It's driving up COVID cases and hospitalizations across the country.

It's also causing quicker reinfections. More people appear to be contracting the virus multiple times in relatively quick succession.

Today, host Emily Kwong talks with science correspondent Allison Aubrey about this dominant subvariant: What it means for mask mandates, "long COVID" — and why infectious disease experts think this wave will be more manageable than last winter's surge.

Got COVID questions? Email the show at [email protected].

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to shortwave from NPR.
0:04.8	Hey short waivers, Emily Kwong here.
0:08.7	Our mainstay health correspondent, Alison Aubrey, is with me.
0:12.5	What is a balsam?
0:13.5	Hi, Emily.
0:14.5	It's good to be here.
0:15.5	Hey, it is another day in the pandemic, which is still ongoing.
0:21.2	When it comes to COVID transmission and new variants, I hear the big player these days
0:25.3	is BA5.
0:26.3	That's right.
0:27.3	This is a sub variant of Omicron, and it is now dominant in the US.
0:31.6	BA5, the most contagious version of the virus yet, now dominant, making up more than 50%
0:38.2	of new cases.
0:39.2	And while there is...
0:40.2	Many experts say this new strain of the virus, BA5, is changing the playing field under
0:44.2	our feet as we try to find the CDC reports the BA5 sub variant is the most dominant in
0:49.7	the US now, with new cases and hospitalizations forcing some cities to reconsider mass mandates.
0:56.4	And Emily was cases rising Los Angeles is now considering whether to reinstate its
1:01.4	mask mandate.
1:02.6	And in New York, the health department is now recommending that people mask up in public
1:06.8	places.
1:07.8	To be honest, Alison, I never really put my mask away in the first place I carry it,
	...

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