In mid-August, less than two per million people in the United States died of COVID-19 each day, compared with more than seven per million when the original omicron peaked in February and 10 per million in January 2021 when the original virus was dominant, according to Our World in Data. The good news, however, is that, despite the increase in infections (many of which are not recorded because of the prevalence of at-home testing), hospitalizations and deaths have remained low compared to during previous waves. That’s the part of the virus that latches onto cells and is the target of most of the existing vaccines. It can also evade the immunity created by both the vaccines and previous infection due to a mutation in the spike protein. This subvariant of omicron is the most transmissible version of the virus that causes COVID-19 yet, according to the CDC.
How is BA.5 different from previous variants? The current dominant COVID-19 subvariant in the United States, BA.5, may have proved less deadly than its predecessors, but it continues to spread wildly, infecting many, killing hundreds each day, and increasing the likelihood of new mutations.ĪAMCNews spoke with infectious disease experts about this latest phase of the pandemic, the BA.5 subvariant, Paxlovid and “Paxlovid rebound,” newly formulated vaccines expected to arrive in September or October, and the threat of future mutations. “This guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts our daily lives,” said Greta Massetti, PhD, MPH, a CDC epidemiologist, in a press release. The change in guidance places more emphasis on personal risk assessment and individual behavior modification, including staying up to date on vaccination, wearing a high-quality mask, and using prescription therapeutics if infected.
With the help of vaccines, boosters, immunity from infection, and the availability of effective antivirals such as Paxlovid, the CDC reasons that the virus no longer poses a high risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death for most people. In mid-August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new, streamlined public health guidelines for managing the COVID-19 pandemic, relaxing some previous guidance and signaling a shift in the pandemic.
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