BA.5 Super-transmissible subvariant of omicron strain fueling fresh increase across UK

A super-transmissible subvariant of the omicron strain, known as BA.5, is fueling a fresh increase in infections across the UK and the continent. According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control  (ECDC), intensive-care admissions are rising. It has warned that another wave of the disease is starting.

Martin McKee, professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said that the timing of the uptick suggests that Covid isn't yet seasonal like the winter flu.

Instead, the successive waves of ever more infectious versions show that it's still not clear what living with the virus will mean in the long run. He said that there's no guarantee that the current



vaccines will continue to be as effective against future variants.

 

To combat the summer spike, the ECDC issued new guidance this week recommending that adults over the age of 60 and medically vulnerable people of any age should consider a second booster now. According to ECDC Director Andrea Ammon, given that most people in that age group had their original boosters more than three to six months ago, protection against severe disease may be waning.

In the UK, the government announced on Friday it will broaden its Covid booster shot campaign to include everyone aged 50 and over. The infection rate there is rising, and is at the highest since April in England.