Does omicron BA.5 cause more severe illness than other strains of COVID-19? Kellie Hwang is the engagement reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is the interconnection of all the worlds people and nations. That's not idle speculation. Two studies due to come out soon suggest the variant, which the virologists call B.1.427/B.1. What about the bivalent booster? What are omicron BA.5 symptoms? The state Department of Public Health estimates it accounts for about 7.8% of cases the fourth-most-common subvariant circulating in the Golden State. LOS ANGELES, CA The highly contagious Mu variant of the coronavirus has been detected in Los Angeles County, health officials confirmed Friday. How effective are N95 masks vs. surgical masks vs. cloth masks? If you know you had contact with an infected person, particularly in a higher-risk situation (such as an indoor space for a longer period with others who werent masked), testing is advised. Statewide and county cases, deaths, hospitalizations, and tests, including by vaccination status, gender, and age, State and county data about vaccination, including by race and ethnicity and age, How COVID-19 has affected different communities across the state, In-depth models, dashboards, databases, and information about Californias COVID-19 data reporting, Official California State Government Website, how California genetically sequences positive COVID-19 tests, Data is updated on Fridays. Sometimes new variants emerge and disappear. Here's what to know. People check-in at a COVID-19 community testing and vaccination clinic in the Mission District. This means that we will continue to see mutations. More cases of the omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 continued to surface around the state, from the Central Valley to Southern California, health officials reported. 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Not for now, Chin-Hong said. Again, these are studies in test tubes that have not been peer reviewed, scientists caution. People infected with flu typically develop symptoms 1-4 days after infection. Delta plus, also referred to as AY.1 or B.617.2.1, is a version of the highly contagious delta variant, which was first detected in India and is causing COVID-19 cases to rise around the world . Heres what you need to know about lambda. A sign announces free COVID-19 Testing in Boyle Heights. Increased affinity for particular demographic or clinical groups, such as children or immunocompromised individuals. Get the latest on how to schedule your COVID-19 vaccine, boosters and third doses, and more. Wearing a mask in these situations helps protect vulnerable people you could unknowingly infect. In the region that includes California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii and the Pacific island territories, an estimated 7.6% of coronavirus cases over the last week were thought to be XBB.1.5, up from 2.4% the week leading up to Christmas, CDC data show. Other variants become common and circulate for a long time. Its important to remember that you may be asymptomatic and not know you are infected but still able to spread COVID-19. Luckily, it seems that it's mutated in a way that the current vaccine still protects from this new variant, Michels said. The bivalent booster vaccine is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A group of college students in masks talk to each other in a hallway. He added that XBBs surges in India and Singapore produced manageable hospitalizations. Yes and yes. Just one-tenth of 1 percent of the cases that are genetically sequenced involve lambda, according to GISAID. ), Read more about bivalent boosters from the FDA, View the California Department of Public Health's statement on bivalent vaccines. Karan urges more people to get the updated bivalent booster, particularly those over 60 and people with severe comorbidities. Should I continue to wear a mask? Users of this data file provided by the Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA) shall not have the right to alter, enhance, or otherwise modify the data. Its mutated thousands of times since it was first identified more than a year ago. The BQ.1.1 and BQ.1 variants continue to make up a majority of the coronavirus cases in the Golden State. Modernas bivalent booster is available to ages 18 and older, while Pfizers bivalent booster is for ages 12 and older. L.A. County reported 160 COVID-19 deaths for the week that ended Tuesday. Omicron BA.5 is more likely to cause less severe illness compared to other variants. So far, XBB.1.5 does not appear to cause more severe illness, though research is not yet conclusive, experts say. It could be, another variant that's developing right now, that will not be captured and covered by our vaccine. That may have happened with a new variant of the coronavirus popping up in California. Every once in a while a virus mutates in a way that helps it survive and reproduce. If we had more robust surveillance, we would have a better understanding of its prevalence and trajectory., This will become clearer with time, Karan said, but for now, this variant is outcompeting other variants and has mutations that give it an advantage to enter cells while also evading parts of our immune system.. I wonder what the WHO will do after scientists have exhausted the Greek alphabet with the discovery of an Omega variant. In its COVID epidemiological update last week, the WHO said the mu variant has been detected in at least 39 countries, including the U.S. The largest cluster of omicron cases has been the six reported so far in Alameda County that included vaccinated workers at Kaiser Oakland Medical Center who also had booster shots and tested positive after attending a wedding in Wisconsin. Left: FILE PHOTO: People wait in line for a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test at a back-to-school clinic in South Gate, Los Angeles, California, U.S., August 12, 2021. Drugs such as Paxlovid and molnupiravir are free and widely available, but officials say doctors are not prescribing them as much as they should. Note: There is a natural reporting lag in these data due to the time commitment to complete whole genome sequencing; therefore, a 14 day lag is applied to these datasets to allow for data completeness. Cody Zeng prepares to take a rapid antigen COVID-19 test at the in-house testing center at the DoorDash offices in San Francisco in October. Numerous variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 are being tracked in the United States and globally during this pandemic. For instance, the CDC initially estimated that about 40.5% of coronavirus specimens circulating nationwide last week were XBB.1.5, but that figure has since been revised downward to 18.3%. These actions reduce the spread and continuing evolution of the virus. Some are believed, or have been stated, to be of particular importance due to their potential for increased transmissibility, [1] increased virulence, or reduced effectiveness of vaccines against them. cov-lineages/pango-designation", "Deltacron: what scientists know so far about this new hybrid coronavirus", "More Data Point to Lambda Variant's Potential Lethality", "SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant exhibits higher infectivity and immune resistance", "What Mutations of SARS-CoV-2 are Causing Concern? Sign up for How To LA, delivered weekday mornings. The California Department of Public Health late Friday reported a total of 18 cases statewide as of Thursday, even as San Diego County health officials reported their second case of the variant whose rapid spread in South Africa last month led the World Health Organization to declare it a variant of concern. More than two years of long COVID research hasnt yielded many answers: scientific review She is a University of Washington graduate. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) works to protect the public's health in the Golden State and helps shape positive health outcomes for individuals, families and That figure includes those hospitalized with COVID-19 and a larger segment of patients who test positive after seeking care for some other reason. Well, you might find yourself out of luck because across the country, critical care beds are being filled by COVID patients. I expect that I will be wearing a face mask whenever I go into a store and will be keeping my distance from people for all of 2022 and possibly beyond. Because of those new genetic markers, the WHO in mid-June declared lambda a variant of interest. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not yet done the same, in part because so few cases have been reported nationwide. At the end of the day, its survival of the fittest.. However previous, studies show that bivalent vaccines result in a stronger immune response against current variants such as BA.5 and help protect against the original strain. Also, New York University researchers tested lambda against the vaccines authorized in the United States and found that the Johnson and Johnson one-dose vaccine was less effective against it and the delta variant compared to the Pfizer and Moderna two-dose vaccines. The latest case rate represents a 12% decrease from the prior week. COVID-19 will no doubt still be a major topic of discussion, but I believe and hope that with the right efforts this will be the year the public health emergency officially ends, he said. Knowing what variants are circulating in California informs public health and clinical action. Still, the European CDC noted Tuesday that U.S. health officials had scaled back the estimated nationwide proportion of XBB.1.5 from 40% to the current 27.6%, leading to significant uncertainty about the subvariants prospects. ", "New, more infectious strain of COVID-19 now dominates global cases of virus: study", "Tracking Changes in SARS-CoV-2 Spike: Evidence that D614G Increases Infectivity of the COVID-19 Virus", "SARS-CoV-2 D614G variant exhibits efficient replication ex vivo and transmission in vivo", "Evaluating the effects of SARS-CoV-2 Spike mutation D614G on transmissibility and pathogenicity", "Chemosensory Dysfunction in COVID-19: Integration of Genetic and Epidemiological Data Points to D614G Spike Protein Variant as a Contributing Factor", "Emergence in late 2020 of multiple lineages of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein variants affecting amino acid position 677", "Study finds 7 newly-identified COVID-19 variants circulating in the United States", "Study shows P681H mutation is becoming globally prevalent among SARS-CoV-2 sequences", "Malaysia identifies new Covid-19 strain, similar to one found in 3 other countries", "Duterte says Sulu seeking help after new COVID-19 variant detected in nearby Sabah, Malaysia", "The current situation and Information on the Spike protein mutation of Covid-19 in Malaysia", "COVID-19 A701V mutation spreads to third wave clusters", "Variants of Concerns (VOC), B.1.524, B.1.525, South African B.1.351, STRAIN D614G, A701V, B1.1.7", "SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants under investigation in England: Technical briefing 39", "COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update: Edition 84, published 22 March 2022", "Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Issues Policies to Guide Medical Product Developers Addressing Virus Variants", "Rates of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and vaccination impact the fate of vaccine-resistant strains", "Mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 Evolution Revealing Vaccine-Resistant Mutations in Europe and America", "Study findings suggest spread of Omicron can be ascribed to immune evasiveness rather than an increase in transmissibility", "Omicron escapes the majority of existing SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies", "Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern: A review on its transmissibility, immune evasion, reinfection, and severity", "How soon after catching COVID-19 can you get it again? Do I really need to know if I had COVID-19 if its not causing serious illness? As the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic nears an end, the coronavirus continues to evolve and prove that it has more tricks up its sleeve. Ron McAllister is a sociologist and writer who lives in York. Starting COVID-19 treatments right away can make a big difference. How long before I had symptoms was I possibly contagious with omicron? Kellie also serves as co-director of the Asian American Journalists Association Features Forum. It is, however, a fraction of the highest from last winter, when 513 deaths were recorded the week that ended Feb. 9. We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. At-home test brands include BinaxNOW and iHealth. The World Health Organization is concerned about the risk to life in China amid the coronavirus explosive spread and the lack of outbreak data from the Chinese government. More recently, two highly publicized laboratory studies from Japan and Chile both in preprint and not yet peer-reviewed have suggested that lambda may be more infectious and less susceptible to current vaccines than the original coronavirus. The emerging lambda variant has been popping up in the news as it spreads rapidly throughout South America. ", "Widespread Coronavirus Infection Found in Iowa Deer, New Study Says", "Detection of new SARS-CoV-2 variants related to mink", "SARS-CoV-2 mink-associated variant strain Denmark", "Danish Covid mink variant 'very likely extinct', but controversial cull continues", "Preliminary report of an outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in mink and mink farmers associated with community spread, Denmark, June to November 2020", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Variants_of_SARS-CoV-2&oldid=1133885545, Reinfections happened, with smaller occurrence rate than vaccinated infections, Efficacy reduction for non-severe disease, Efficacy reduction against symptomatic disease, unknown for severe disease. Thats why it is so important to vaccinate people as quickly as possible, Michels said. If Im vaccinated and dont have symptoms, but think I was exposed to COVID-19, should I get tested? The Japanese researchers suggested that WHOs current variant of interest designation for lambda may underplay its potential threat. COVID XBB.1.5 variant spreads in California. However, its unclear whether the circulation of this latest strain, XBB.1.5, will alter the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic. This subvariant will be hard to avoid unless one is being careful, Swartzberg said. You will then be prompted to answer which vaccines you have received already. Not just yet, infectious disease specialists say. People have tested positive for COVID-19 with this new variant in 12 counties so far, including Los Angeles, Riverside, San Francisco, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, Humboldt, Lake, Mono, Monterey, San Luis Obisbo, and also San Clara County, where its been linked to outbreaks. Your previous immunity does not protect you from the latest strain. However, people infected with, If your illness gets worse, youll want to know so you can take advantage of. The study, published Wednesday on JAMA Network Open, shows a team of researchers found that those with the sleep disorder are 31 percent more likely to be hospitalized and 31 percent more likely to. Five of those 14 boosted cases however had received the additional dose less than two weeks before they developed symptoms. As a result, last week 373 COVID patients were in Maine hospitals, with 118 of them in critical care and 60 on ventilators. The new BN.1 omicron offshoot, which the CDC designated a subvariant of concern last weekend, has already taken off. UC Davis Health patients can use the MyUCDavisHealth symptom tracker to evaluate whether to seek help. Researchers say its unique new gene deletions and mutations signal that lambda may be more infectious than the original wild type coronavirus and may be potentially resistant to current vaccines, although more studies are needed. As of last Thursday, the CDC is requiring travelers to the US from China, Hong Kong and Macao to take a Covid-19 test no more than two days before travel and provide a negative result before boarding a flight. Breakthrough infections are in people who have been vaccinated or previously had COVID. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Ron McAllister: Don't wait for an Omega COVID variant to do your part, NH Gov. Its possible the temporary decrease in reported deaths resulted from data delays over the winter holidays. The delta variant dominating U.S. COVID-19 cases is considered a variant of concern by both WHO and CDC, in part because its much more infectious than the original virus. Over the most recent week, the CDC estimates that XBB.1.5 accounts for 27.6% of new cases across the U.S., the second-highest share of any coronavirus strain. Thats not idle speculation. All but two of the reported omicron cases were in people who had been vaccinated, and the vaccination status of two others was unknown. Vaccination rates at the state level show a wide disparity. Deltas aggressive all over the world and lambda hasnt really taken off, Chin-Hong said. Chris Sununu rolls up sleeve for Booster Blitz, The rate of disease is markedly lower for those who received their booster shot, more than 90% of those with COVID who are on ventilators, almost 30 times more likely to be hospitalized, 373 COVID patients were in Maine hospitals, Up to 75 more Maine National Guard members to support hospitals amid COVID surge, Ron McAllister: Don't wait for an Omega COVID variant to do your part. Still, hospitalizations are increasing across the country, particularly in the Northeast, and more people are dying compared with a month ago, Swartzberg said. This is a public-private partnership that provides California with genomic sequencing to help understand and control the spread of COVID-19. If that happens, hospitals could be overwhelmed by a rapid rise in new COVID-19 cases.