Topline
A new Covid variant called EG.5 is the most prevalent strain in the U.S., and although it’s causing an increase in cases and hospitalizations, experts don’t believe its symptoms are more severe than previous omicron variants.
A man receives a nasal swab COVID-19 test at Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles … [+]
Key Facts
New Covid omicron subvariant EG.5, or “Eris,” is now the dominant strain in the U.S., surpassing XBB.1.16 (or “Arcturus”), according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
EG.5 made up 17.3% of all cases in the two-week period from July 23 to August 5, a large jump from the 0.4% of cases it made up between April 30 and May 13.
The World Health Organization classified EG.5 as a “variant of interest” Wednesday, which is a step below a variant of concern—WHO previously labeled it a “variant under monitoring” on July 19.
While EG.5 may cause an increase in cases, WHO said it poses a low risk to public health in comparison to other omicron offspring because there’s no evidence it causes more severe cases.
It is a recombinant strain—the result of two Covid variants combining during the replication process, which can occur if a person is infected with two variants at the same time—of the omicron family and a descendant of another strain labeled XBB.1.9.2.
EG.5 has an extra mutation on its spike called mutation 465, which is present in about 35% of coronavirus sequences worldwide—a lot of the XBB variants have mutation 465, though experts don’t know what comes with the mutation.
Key Background
According to WHO’s report, EG.5 first appeared in February and already has a subvariant, called EG.5.1, that has a second mutation on the spike. David Ho, a professor at Columbia University, told CNN that despite EG.5 being a new variant, its symptoms aren’t more severe or different from previous variants. However, it does have more immune escape compared to other variants, “which is why it’s getting legs all around the world.” Possible symptoms include fever, fatigue, muscle pain, chest pain, congestion, cough, headache, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, sore throat or loss of taste or smell—like earlier Covid strains. According to a Twitter thread by T. Ryan Gregory, a biologist and professor at the University of Guelph in Canada, though current boosters aren’t specifically designed to protect against EG.5 or EG.5.1, “the hope is that the boosters will work broadly on XBBs,” of which they are descendants of.
Crucial Quote
“The good news is that we’re not seeing anything in the virus that suggests it’s getting more transmissible or more lethal,” Ashwin Vasan, the New York City health commissioner, said. “What this really is, is just waning immunity…This is part of living with Covid, and these fluctuations are to be expected.”
Tangent
The new variant’s domination comes at a time when the U.S. is experiencing a summer surge in Covid cases. Though monitoring has been difficult since the Covid Public Health Emergency was lifted in May, some tracking is still being done. The CDC reported a 12.5% increase in hospitalizations in the week ending in July 29, totaling over 9,000 new hospitalizations. The latest data from the New York State Health Department reports cases are up 55% and hospitalizations are up 22% in the state. New York isn’t the only state experiencing a spike in cases: According to the Florida Department of Health, there were over 15,000 new cases reported in the week ending in August 3 in the state, a 21% increase from the week prior. Walgreens reports that 48.3% of all Covid tests conducted at its stores across California have come back positive—the highest number since January and almost double the 27% figure recorded in June.
Further Reading
Covid’s No Longer A Public Health Emergency: Here’s How That May Affect You (Forbes)
What To Know About ‘Arcturus’: New Covid Variant Causing Pink Eye (Forbes)
New variant EG.5 is on the rise as Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations go up (CNN)