Following a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations across the country this summer, questions have been raised about what precipitated the spike and whether it can be attributed to a specific variant.
The Omicron EG.5 subvariant, also commonly known as Eris, accounts for the highest number of COVID-19 infections in the United States compared to any other strain, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC).
During a nearly two-week period beginning July 23 and ending August 5, EG.5 was responsible for more than 17% of all US COVID cases, an increase of 5% compared to two weeks earlier. . In response to a rise in cases globally, the World Health Organization on Wednesday classified EG.5 as a variant of interest.
A descendant of the XBB sublineage XBB.1.9.2, EG.5 carries an additional mutation, allowing it to evade immunity more easily than others.
Although it was first detected in February 2023, the WHO added EG.5 to its list of variants under surveillance on July 19.
When it comes to symptoms, they seem to largely mirror those of other COVID-19 infections.
“EG.5 was recently detected in the US, but the data we have collected on the global circulation of the virus has shown that its symptoms are the same as those of other variants,” said Andrew Pekosz, professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in an article. “Their disease potential appears to be exactly the same as that of other variants.”
Doctor Ricardo Correa explains what the COVID-19 emergency means on May 11. Valeria Aponte Feliciano moderates the interview.
People who contract COVID-19 can exhibit a wide range of symptoms, including the common ones listed below, as defined by the CDC:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body pain
- Headache
- Loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Stuffy or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
In an email to NBC Chicago on Thursday, a CDC spokesperson said guidance and information on the agency’s website had not changed, despite the emergence of new strains.
Compared to other XBB variants, EG.5 is likely to be more transmissible, Sharon Nachman, chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, told TODAY.com. However, it is not clear why that is the case.
“If it were equally transmissible, then we wouldn’t see it gaining strength in numerical terms compared to some of the other variants,” Nachman said, adding that EG.5 quickly eliminated other XBB variants in the US, which were previously dominant this summer.
EG.5 has shown higher prevalence, growth and immune evasion properties, but does not appear to be more severe than others, as indicated in a recent WHO report.
But if you haven’t had a recent COVID-19 shot, you might want to consider getting the new booster once it’s available in the fall.
Although the booster will not be specifically designed to target EG.5, the basis of the new vaccine will be the XBB variants, which are closely associated with it. “There should be a good match between that vaccine and the EG.5 variant, as well as the other XBB variants that are circulating at the moment,” Pekosz said.
