By Cara Murez and Robin Foster HealthDay Reporters HealthDay Reporter MONDAY, July 18, 2022 (HealthDay News) – As the latest Omicron subvariant fuels climbing case counts in the United States, the Biden administration has extended the country’s public health emergency status through mid-October. Known as BA.5, the subvariant is considered the … Read more
July 12, 2022 – The BA.5 Omicron subvariant is dominating now and accounts for 65% – or about two-thirds – of the virus causing COVID-19 in the United States, federal officials said on Tuesday. Although no evidence yet points to BA.5 causing more severe disease, hospitalization numbers are up in the past few months and … Read more
South African scientists have detected two new sublineages of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. According to Tulio de Oliveira, Director of the Centre for Epidemic Response & innovation, South Africa, the lineages have been named BA.4 and BA.5. However, he said, the detection was no cause for alarm and it … Read more
April 6, 2022 The Omicron subvariant BA.2 is causing the lion’s share of COVID infections in the United States now, but so far it hasn’t resulted in a surge of cases. BA.2 accounted for 72% of cases last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while the overall number of cases has … Read more