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Get the latest on how to schedule your COVID-19 vaccine, boosters and third doses, and more. Its not like saying thats going to increase our death rate but it could as secondary infections become harder to manage, she said. Pfizer has told NBC News that it could have an updated vaccine targeting BA.4 and BA.5 ready to be distributed in October. In the US, officials say they are seeing rising numbers of infections caused by the two new subvariants. The second Omicron wave due to BA.2 was not as high as the first one caused by BA.1, probably because there were so many people infected with BA.1, that the ensuing immunity dampened the second wave down. This is especially key for those who are over age 50 and immunocompromised. The two subvariants also appear to evade protection from vaccines and previous infections more easily than most of their predecessors. Scientists in this country first detected BA.4 on January 10, 2022, and it has since spread throughout South Africa, now making up 35% of positive tests. Despite what many of us might like to believe, COVID-19 has not gone away. Yes. So were likely to see a rise in case numbers. The federal government hasnt received any advice on retightening COVID-19 mandates, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says. Its important to know if you're infected with COVID-19 for three reasons: Most likely. Consider upgrading your face masks to N95s or KN95s if you want more protection. A similar subvariant, BA.4, makes up 17% more. The fourth dose: Why is it necessary and is it enough to stop the spike? Each new subvariant of Omicron has been better able to evade immunity from vaccination than its predecessor. We have learned that the [COVID-19-causing variants] are more mutable than we initially thought. Im not saying it wont happen, he said. By the end of June, new weekly cases were up by 32 per cent in Southeast Asia, 33 per cent in Europe and 47 per cent in the region comprising the Middle East, Central Asia, North Africa and the Horn of Africa, the World Health Organisation said. I aim myself to get an additional booster. Wearing a mask in these situations helps protect vulnerable people you could unknowingly infect. More than 70,000 new infections and 89 deaths were reported nationwide over the weekend, with Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 now the dominant strains of the virus. Francois Balloux, the director of the University College London Genetics Institute, said thats most likely another reason the subvariants have taken over. On May 12, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reclassified BA.4 and BA.5 as variants of concern. They also have many additional mutations likely to impact transmission. But the new subvariants do appear to be spreading more easily. "If your last boost was over six months ago, you might want to consider getting boosted again now with the current vaccine to keep your protection strong while were still getting through this pandemic," Montefiori said. And the issue, at least in [the U.S.], is can we persuade people to come forward yet again to be vaccinated? People, if they are eligible, should do that. Medical News Today asked the experts. Few countries are sequencing large numbers of positive tests, despite the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) stating on May 4 that testing and sequencing remain absolutely critical., In many countries were essentially blind to how the virus is mutating. We dont know whats coming next., Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, He is not alone in his concern about the lack of sequencing. Its always better to know than not [to] know.. Rather, rises in cases and hospitalisations observed in some places more likely have to do with fading vaccine protection. BA.4 and BA.5 were first identified in South Africa and may soon become the dominant strains in Europe and the United States (US), health experts say. We asked experts about the lessons learned and the questions, BA.2.12.1, the descendant of the stealth Omicron subvariant, is quickly gaining ground in the United States. How can at-home tests help during a COVID-19 surge? Theres really no clear evidence that theyre more or less likely to make people sick and cause severe illness and death, he said. Health minister responds to mask mandate calls amid warning new Omicron wave just starting. If you have a medical emergency, call 911 and notify them of your COVID-19 symptoms. Balloux added, though, that BA.2, BA.4 and B.5 from a neutralising antibody perspective are essentially interchangeable. They were added to the World Health Organization's (WHO) monitoring list in March and have also been designated as variants of concern in Europe. Aria Bendix, NBC & Callum Godde and John Kidman, AAP, Sunrise presenter Monique Wright reveals daughter was hospitalised with COVID, Medicines treating COVID-19 to be made available to millions more Australians. And then, of course, the sequencing is utterly important to pick up that rare event when we would get another rogue strain that could evade the protection of our vaccines, he added. Cloth masks reduce the risk of infection by about 50%. This Snapshot Feature weighs up the existing evidence and questions yet to be answered. Balloux said no difference has been observed so far between BA.4 or BA.5 symptoms and those of previous subvariants. However, if you were in a situation where people were outside, masked and distanced, the risk of infection is much lower. The coronavirus subvariant known as BA.5 accounted for nearly 54% of the country's Covid cases as of Saturday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So far, the number of hospitalizations there has increased only slightly. From Monday, Australians over 30 will be able to get a fourth vaccine dose, or second booster. South Africa had a surge in cases driven by BA.4 and BA.5 this spring, and Covid hospitalizations are rising in the U.K. Balloux added, though, that "BA.2, BA.4 and B.5 from a neutralizing antibody perspective are essentially interchangeable." Both appear to be offshoots of BA.2, sharing many identical mutations. A South Australian government campaign poster on a bus shelter in Adelaide on 24 June urges people to get the third Covid vaccine. See more in the video player above, Watch the latest News on Channel 7 or stream for free on 7plus >>. It minimises the impact and people should follow that health advice. There was a massive, massive change between Delta and Omicron, and then there was, again, a fairly massive change between BA.1 and BA.2.. There have been a few major variants already, such as alpha and delta, that have caused massive waves of infection. Medical News Today assessed the evidence and spoke to experts in the U.S. and the U.K. to find out. Most people who test positive with any variant of COVID-19 typically experience some symptoms for a couple weeks. "Its just some are slightly better at infecting people who have been vaccinated or infected by previous variants.". Deakin University epidemiology chair Catherine Bennett said it was difficult to determine how transmissible the new Omicron variants were due to waning vaccine immunity and differing levels of prior infection. Heres who is eligible. Learn more about the difference between quarantine and isolation. This will inevitably lead to an increase in hospitalisation and deaths. Summer Covid-19 surge may be on the horizon, officials say, three times less sensitive to neutralizing antibodies, account for the majority of new Covid cases, symptoms reported in the U.K. in the spring, Doctor answers your top COVID-19, omicron variant questions. This gap is in place because many infected people still shed virus particles many weeks after recovery. How long before I had symptoms was I possibly contagious with omicron? Are the COVID-19 vaccines effective in protecting against omicron BA.5? How effective are N95 masks vs. surgical masks vs. cloth masks? Does omicron BA.5 cause more severe illness than other strains of COVID-19? There is clearly vaccine fatigue out there., He added that [t]he more people we can vaccinate around the world [the more we can] reduce the chance of these rogue variants popping up., Prof. Jonathan Stoye, FRS, principal group leader, and international affairs ambassador at the Francis Crick Institute in London, U.K., agreed: It does not seem unreasonable to ask whether a greater emphasis should not be placed on attempting to provide and deliver a vaccine which can be administered to all the worlds unprotected people, particularly those in lower and middle-income countries.. The Omicrons are an extraordinarily contagious family. However, the UKHSA published a risk assessment of the two subvariants comparing them with Omicron BA.2. Thats consistent with the symptoms reported in the U.K. in the spring, when the BA.2 subvariant was dominant. It is likely that BA.4 and BA.5 will spread further, and that they will not be the last new variants. A new version of COVID-19 is dominant in Australia. See which COVID-19 symptoms you should watch for, Learn more about omicron BA.5 and how you can protect yourself. That means even if you were infected with delta or omicron BA.1, you can still get BA.5. Preliminary research from Japan indicates the variants could replicate more efficiently in the lungs than BA.2, and Bennett said this could lead to an increase in lower respiratory tract and secondary infections. This article was originally published in the Conversation. However, he is concerned that vaccine fatigue may be having an effect: Of course, vaccines dont prevent disease vaccination prevents disease. You can also sign up to get four free COVID test kits that are mailed to you from the federal government. COVID cases are soaring. Is omicron BA.5 able to spread more easily than other COVID-19 strains? A study found BA.4/5 is able to replicate more efficiently in the lungs than BA.2. Most European countries now have them and they look set to overtake other types of COVID soon. can experience health problems for four or more weeks after first being infected. How are COVID-19 deaths counted, and what does this mean. They made everyone fair game for infection or reinfection but hospitalisations were unlikely to reach levels seen during the initial Omicron wave, she said. You need to know whether to isolate so you can reduce your chances of infecting others, especially those who are more vulnerable to severe COVID-19. They have cut the risk of severe illness against the other major COVID variants, including Delta, Alpha, Beta and Gamma. This wave peaked in early April at more than 60,000 cases a day. Its recommended that those above the age of 50 do get their additional booster shot, he told reporters in Canberra on Saturday. New research finds that with each repeat COVID infection even asymptomatic infection your risk for complications increases. People tend to overestimate actually how much the virus has changed very recently, Balloux said. Stay vigilant and get vaccinated if you havent already. (For brevity, I refer to them as BA.4/5.). It is more easily spread than other strains because it evades immunity from past COVID-19 infection and vaccination. That might mean that people who got BA.2 infections have some protection now. The more people who are infected, the more likely we are to see new variants. This followed a sharp rise in cases in Portugal, where the Portuguese National Institute of Health estimated on May 8 that BA.5 was responsible for around 37% of all positive cases. Learn more about which masks are best to protect against omicron BA.5. All Rights Reserved | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy, 2315 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95817, UC Davis Health is scheduling COVID-19 vaccines. If you think you've been exposed to COVID-19, please see current testing information. However, BA.2 is even more transmissible than BA.1, and Australia saw a second wave of cases, this time caused by BA.2. "We have waning immunity now in the people who got boosted half a year or more ago," Montefiori said. This is possibly because of the high rates of immunity due to previous infections. The latest variants are masters at evading immunity meaning previous infection and vaccines are unlikely to provide much protection against catching it. UC Davis Health patients can use the MyUCDavisHealth symptom tracker to evaluate whether to seek help. Increasing cases have led to calls from some to reintroduce indoor mask mandates in an attempt to curb transmission. However these are likely to be overestimates, as the calculations didnt take into account immune escape. We measure how contagious a disease is by the basic reproduction number (R0). The FDA estimates that omicron-specific boosters from Pfizer and Moderna will become available in early to mid-fall. Aria Bendix is the breaking health reporter for NBC News Digital. Adrian Esterman is a professor of biostatistics and epidemiology at the University of South Australia. Current vaccines still work well to prevent severe illness and death. You can also reach out to our experts using UC Davis Healths convenient Telehealth Express Carefor urgent needs or extended-hours video visits. The National Institute of Clinical Diseases in South Africa reports that BA.4 and BA.5 are Omicron viruses with a new combination of mutations.. To help limit spread of COVID-19, we have policies for visits to our hospital and outpatient clinics. This increases the chance of reinfection. There are only trade-offs.. "They're taking over, so clearly they're more contagious than earlier variants of omicron," said David Montefiori, a professor at the Human Vaccine Institute at Duke University Medical Center. If things get bad enough, state and territory governments might be forced to reintroduce face mask mandates in many settings in my opinion, not such a bad thing. "There was a massive, massive change between delta and omicron, and then there was, again, a fairly massive change between BA.1 and BA.2.". Reported Covid case numbers have stayed relatively flat in the U.S. since May, but case numbers are on the rise globally. We have waning immunity now in the people who got boosted half a year or more ago, Montefiori said. CORRECTION (July 7, 2022, 7 a.m. The new genetic versions that keep appearing are called variants. Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Omicron the list of SARS-CoV-2 variants continues to expand. Your previous immunity does not protect you from the latest strain. BA.4 and BA.5 are expected to become the dominant Covid strains in Australia in the coming weeks. At this stage now, I think all these variants actually are roughly equally transmissible, so theres not a huge difference, he said. We havent figured out how to do that yet., What have we learned about the evolution of viral variants after 2 years of COVID-19? In addition, Balloux said, its hard to predict whether BA.5 will still be dominant later this year. Experts are unsure how hard countries will be hit. Although the numbers recorded for both variants are currently low, the actual case numbers are likely to be much higher. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Are they different in any way from previous strains? And no sooner have we got used to one variant than another appears. For that reason, he added, people eligible for second boosters those over 50 or the immunocompromised may not want to wait. Number one: To detect these minor subvariants. Omicron started off as three subvariants (that is, a group of viruses from the same parent virus) all appearing in late November 2021 in South Africa: BA.1, BA.2 and BA.3. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. ET): A previous version of this article misstated which group recommended boosters targeting BA.4 and BA.5. Doctors say it is vital people get the recommended number of doses to gain maximum protection against existing and emerging variants. "Given the uncertainty, theres no right or wrong," he said. Two new fast-spreading subvariants of Omicron are causing fresh surges of COVID around the world. For that reason, he added, people eligible for second boosters those over 50 or the immunocompromised may not want to wait. Given the uncertainty, theres no right or wrong, he said. A woman wearing a protective face mask stands outside the international terminal at Sydney airport. At the moment, if anything, Omicron seems to be on the milder side.. BA.5 was also detected in South Africa, in February 2022. In the UK, where BA.4 and BA.5 also account for the majority of new COVID-19 cases, the most common COVID-19 symptoms last week were runny nose, sore throat, headache, persistent cough and fatigue. As of June 19, BA.5 accounted for 43 per cent of Omicron cases worldwide, while BA.4 accounted for 12 per cent. However, the federal government on Monday will move forward on the issue of access to vaccines. You will want to notify anyone you were recently in contact with so they can monitor their symptoms and get tested if needed. If this gives the virus a survival advantage, the new version will thrive. At this stage, we do not know whether any of the Omicron subvariants differ in their ability to cause long Covid. Its important to remember that you may be asymptomatic and not know you are infected but still able to spread COVID-19. Each subvariant has its own different mutations in other areas of the virus. If you have serious symptoms of illness, contact your primary care provider. They are talked about together because mutations in their spike protein (the bit that latches on to human cells) are identical. However, they do differ in some of the mutations on the body of the virus. Reported COVID-19 case numbers have been creeping higher in Australia, and case numbers are on the rise globally. Heres what you need to know. a pre-print publication from South Africa suggests BA.4/5 has a growth advantage over BA.2 similar to the growth advantage of BA.2 over BA.1. Balloux said no difference has been observed so far between BA.4 or BA.5 symptoms and those of previous subvariants. Less than one-third of people surveyed reported fevers, according to data from the Zoe COVID-19 Symptom Study, which asks people to self-report their symptoms through smartphone apps. By Elizabeth Daoud and Molly Magennis / World News. Access, update your COVID-19 vaccine record, According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID tracker, CDC recently released data that showed the risk of death from COVID, sign up to get four free COVID test kits that are mailed to you from the federal government, upgrading your face masks to N95s or KN95s, California Department of Public Health: COVID-19, Centers for Disease Control: Coronavirus (COVID-2019), World Health Organization: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Johns Hopkins real-time dashboard for COVID-2019 cases, long-term cognitive impairment, including dementia, If your illness gets worse, youll want to know so you can take advantage of. These tests are pretty reliable, but they're not perfect. If your last boost was over six months ago, you might want to consider getting boosted again now with the current vaccine to keep your protection strong while were still getting through this pandemic, Montefiori said. Still, the future of the pandemic will depend not just on the properties of variants, but also on human behavior and how much immunity has built up in the population.

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