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The EG.5 variant now makes up the largest proportion of new COVID-19 infections nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated, as multiple parts of the country have been reporting their first upticks of the virus in months.
Overall, as of Friday, 17.3% of COVID-19 cases nationwide were projected to be caused by EG.5, more than any other group, up from 7.5% through the first week of July.
The next most common variants after EG.5 are now XBB.1.16 at 15.6%, XBB.2.23 at 11.2% and XBB.1.5 at 10.3%. Some other new XBB spinoffs are now being ungrouped from their parents by the CDC, including FL.1.5.1, which now accounts for 8.6% of new cases.
EG.5 includes a strain with a subgroup of variants designated as EG.5.1, which a biology professor, T. Ryan Gregory, nicknamed "Eris" an unofficial name that began trending on social media.
Experts say EG.5 is one of the fastest growing lineages worldwide, thanks to what might be a "slightly beneficial mutation" that is helping it outcompete some of its siblings.
It is one of several closely-related Omicron subvariants that have been competing for dominance in recent months. All of these variants are descendants of the XBB strain, which this fall's COVID-19 vaccines will be redesigned to guard against.
Officials have said that symptoms and severity from these strains have been largely similar, though they acknowledge that discerning changes in the virus is becoming increasingly difficult as surveillance of the virus has slowed.
"While the emergency of COVID has been lifted and we're no longer in a crisis phase, the threat of COVID is not gone. So, keeping up with surveillance and sequencing remains absolutely critical," Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization's technical lead for COVID-19, said on July 26.
Earlier this year, the CDC disclosed it would slow its variant estimates from weekly to biweekly, in hopes of being able to gather larger sample sizes to produce those projections.
On Friday, the agency said for the first time it was unable to publish its "Nowcast" projections for where EG.5 and other variants are highest in every region.
Only three parts of the country regions anchored around California, Georgia and New York had enough sequences to produce the updated estimates.
"Because Nowcast is modeled data, we need a certain number of sequences to accurately predict proportions in the present," CDC spokesperson Kathleen Conley said in a statement.
Less than 2,000 sequences from U.S. cases have been published to virus databases in some recent weeks, according to a CDC tally, down from tens of thousands per week earlier during the pandemic.
"For some regions, we have limited numbers of sequences available, and therefore are not displaying nowcast estimates in those regions, though those regions are still being used in the aggregated national nowcast," said Conley.
CBS News reporter covering public health and the pandemic.
CNN
Covid-19 is on the rise again as the world approaches the fourth virus season since the coronavirus arrived on the scene.
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show a slight increase in hospital admissions, emergency department visits, and positive Covid-19 tests although not nearly as high as in past summers.
Summer travel, unrelenting heat that drives people indoors, and weakened immunity to the virus may all be to blame for this increase in Covid-19 activity, rather than an infectious new variant.
Experts say its impossible to know what the fall and winter virus season may hold, but there are still tools to get through the small summer surge and prepare for the months ahead.
Covid-19 is not going anywhere, so doctors say its best to protect yourself against the virus the same way you would the flu: getting vaccinated.
Moderna and Pfizer are both working on updated Covid-19 vaccines targeted to the XBB strains subvariants of the Omicron variant. Pfizer has said its new shot could be approved in November, and vaccines are expected to be available in late September or early October.
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California San Francisco, says If you are over the age of 65 or have a weakened immune system, and you have no recent immunity to Covid-19, you should not wait to get an updated Covid-19 shot. The bivalent booster currently being offered will provide sufficient immunity. People who get the existing booster will then need to wait weeks or months before getting the updated booster expected to be released in the fall.
I would probably go and get it right now if you havent been boosted recently, he says, adding that immunity to any Covid-19 strain puts older adults and the immunocompromised at an advantage over the virus.
The same applies to children who have never been vaccinated or who have not been vaccinated recently,according to Dr. Adam Ratner, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at New York University and a member of the Committee on Infectious Diseases at the American Academy of Pediatrics.
I would not wait if I had an unvaccinated kid, Ratner says. The variants that are circulating right now are less efficiently neutralized by antibodies that come from the original vaccine, but thats not the same as there being no protection from the earlier versions of the vaccine.
Meanwhile, most Americans who have some immunity to Covid-19 whether through vaccination or prior infection can likely wait until the updated Covid-19 vaccine becomes available in the fall.
When it is available, Chin-Hong says people should start to get the newest Covid-19 booster along with their flu shot every fall to prevent hospitalizations and death along with serious disruptions to daily life.
In addition to vaccination, the best way to prevent the spread of Covid-19 is by isolating if you are sick. The CDCs recommendation remains the same: Stay home for at least five days if you test positive for the virus.
Isolating is especially important as children across the country head back to school, Ratner says, adding that kids should stay home for a full five days if they test positive for Covid-19 and only go back to class after that ifthey are feeling better. Even then, children should continue to wear a mask for another five days to prevent spreading in schools.
That recommendation also applies to adults, Ratner says.
Even if they dont have symptoms, Chin-Hong says Covid-19 patients need to use a mask. It doesnt hurt to carry around a mask in your pocket should you need it, he says.
As an infectious disease doctor, the best use of the mask is if youre sick and especially if you have symptoms and putting it on to protect other people, Chin-Hong says.
It may have been a while since you have bought an at-home Covid-19 test kit, but Chin-Hong recommends that people use them if they feel ill. Dont assume it is the flu or the common cold.
Knowing you have [Covid-19] is important, he says highlighting that the earlier you know you are sick the sooner you can isolate and take advantage of treatments like Paxlovid.
Knowing you are Covid-19 positive and preventing infection is also the polite thing to do, Chin-Wong says adding that its important to have humility for people who are trying to protect themselves, because people are still suffering from severe cases of Covid-19.
The same virus may mean very little to your average person in terms of symptoms, he says. It may have a [larger] impact on some people in the community.
If you are worried about your test kit being too old, Chin-Hong says dont throw it out.
Each kit has an expiration date, but the manufacturers keep on extending the expiration date. So, if in doubt, I would just look at the expiration date and if its beyond the expiration date, just go online, or call the manufacturer and ask them if theyve extended that lot, he says.
However, if you have a test kit from very early in the pandemic, 2020 or 2021, it may not give an accurate reading, Chin-Hong says.
Many people who contract Covid-19 experience flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, and headache, while others experience no symptoms at all. In these cases, the treatment plan remains the same as it has throughout the pandemic. Patients should take over-the-counter medication, rest and drink plenty of fluids.
However, witha Covid-19 case that may grow more serious, Paxlovid and remdesivir are available and may be underutilized, Chin-Hong said.
Remdesivir is an antiviral medication that is often used to treat more serious cases of Covid-19, but Chin-Hong adds that administering that medication is not simple. The drug does not have many interactions, but it needs to be given via an IV over the course of three consecutive days.
[That is] a limitation for people in the outpatient setting or who dont have access to a health care system that has an infusion center, he says.
Paxlovid is also an antiviral medication that is a combination of twomedications nirmatrelvir and ritonavir which are taken together as pills for five days within the first five days of a persons Covid-19 symptoms.
A study published earlier this year in Lancet Infectious Diseases shows Paxlovid was 80% effective in preventing hospitalization or death if a Covid-19 positive patient started taking the drug within five days of symptom onset.
Chin-Hong says he recommends that Paxlovid be prescribed to all Covid-19 patients who are older or have a weakened immune system. However, a study published in JAMA last month suggests uptake isnt that strong. In the study, researchers found that only 25% of nursing home residents were prescribed Paxlovid between May 2021 and December 2022, despite the high risk of Covid-19 infection and complications.
Despite its effectiveness, there are downsides to the medication. Paxlovid is known to interact with many other drugs, which Chin-Hong points out may be the reason why it is not being used for mild to moderate cases of Covid-19.
I think thats probably the biggest question and the biggest variability in terms of how clinicians see it, he says. Some clinicians are very comfortable with managing drug interactions; other clinicians dont know or are afraid to use it.
Rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations
COVID-19 hospitalizations are on the rise and it's the first increase we've seen so far this year. This comes as many students are heading back to school.
ATLANTA - COVID-19 hospitalizations are on the rise, marking the first increase we've seen so far this year. This comes as many students are heading back to school.
According to the latest data from the CDC, COVID-19hospitalizations increased by 12.1% during the week of July 16 nationwide. While those numbers are still much lower than the same period in previous years, it does mark the biggest increase in 2023.
"What's very unusual about this increase compared to other increases we've seen in the past 3 years is this is actually not due to a new variant of concern this is still the same circulating variants we had since the beginning of 2023," Jodie Guest, Sr. Vice Chair of the Department of Epidemiology at Emory University, explained.
In Georgia, Cobb, Paulding and Cherokee counties are some of the locations that saw significant hospitalizationincreases in the same reporting period. Colquitt County in south Georgia saw one of the largest changes nationwide.
"This is likely based on a combination of summertime people getting together a lot of travel a lot of engagement. And probably also based on the fact that a lot of people aren't testing anymore before they get together," Guest said.
"The uptick in hospitalizations is actually across all age groups, but it's particularly significant in those who are 70 and older," she added.
Experts say it's a good idea to take a COVID test if you're feeling sick and staying up to date on vaccines with a new booster expected as soon as this month.
"I think the majority of people if they were to contract COVID-19 right now are not going to have a particularly rough time of it for long term they may not feel great for a little bit of time certainly if you have any symptoms of COVID-19 there's still really easy access to testing," Guest explained.
The Georgia Department of Public Health offers several locations for free COVID testing throughout the state.
