The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Tuesday that the Omicron BA.5 subvariant was thought to account for 81.9 percent of the coronavirus variants that were in circulation in the US during the week ending July 23.
This was greater than the predicted prevalence of 75.9 percent from the previous week.
Globally, BA.5 has been responsible for an increase in new infections and has demonstrated a propensity for eluding the immune defences provided by either vaccination or previous infection.
The findings revealed that the Omicron subvariant BA.4 was thought to account for 12.9% of the circulating variations in the United States.In preparation for a potential booster dose for the fall season, the US Food and Drug Administration has requested that vaccine producers focus on the two subvariants that are now dominating.
US health officials are also advising anyone 50 years of age and older to receive a booster shot, stressing that doing so would not preclude them from receiving a second “bivalent” booster intended to more specifically ward off Omicron later this year.
