It is not our intention to alarm. We write to explain BA.5 is highly infectious, and we do need to forget the idea the pandemic is over. The variant is spreading unusually fast in United Kingdom. While Washington Post explains it has quickly become dominant in United States too. Therefore Omicron BA.5 may be the worst of the variants so far
Could Omicron BA.5 Really Be the Worst
Communities in both countries seem to have largely forgotten the need to take precautions. Moreover, their governments have abandoned mass testing programs. Most people are testing themselves at home, if at all. As a result, we have no overarching data base.
However, Centers for Disease Control did report over 100,000 new cases a day last week. Although Eric Topol at Scripps Research told Washington Post it could be as many as a million new cases a day.
He believes BA.5 could be “the worst version of the virus that we’ve seen”. Because antibodies from vaccines and previous COVID-19 infections offer limited protection. Although on the brighter side hospitalizations and deaths have not “peaked dramatically”
BA.5 Illnesses Are of Unpredictable Severity
Infectious disease experts generally agree BA.5 “causes illnesses of unpredictable severity” according to Washington Post. While at the same time governments are not doing enough to limit transmission.
Most people, their reporter continues are done with masking, social distancing, and the pandemic generally. They’re taking their chances with the virus. “It’s the wild west out there,” says Ziyad Al-Aly, an epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis.
This leaves citizens with a stark choice. Do we let our guard down and (almost) deliberately expose ourselves to risk? Or do we step out of line and take the basic precautions we know work well. This time, it seems we are out there on our own.
Breaking News
Cases Rise in UK as Pandemic Resurfaces
