Spreading Fast And Can Avoid Immunity, BA.4 And BA.5 Subvariant Cases Reach 21 Percent Of Corona Virus Infections In The US

Illustration of COVID-19 in the United States. (Wikimedia Commons/The National Guard/Senior Master Sgt. Emily Beightol-Deyerle/167th Airlift Wing/West Virginia Air National Guard)

JAKARTA - The BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron are expected to make up about 8.3 percent and 13.3 percent of the coronavirus variant in the United States as of June 11, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Tuesday.

Two fast-spreading sublineages added to the World Health Organization (WHO) monitoring list in March have also been designated as variants of concern in Europe.

"I am very concerned," said Dr. Gregory Poland, head of the Mayo Clinic vaccine research group in Rochester, Minnesota, United States, reports Reuters June 15.

He added that data from South Africa showed the subvariance was better at evading vaccine-associated immunity and previous infection.

Vaccines or previous infections may confer a benefit against death or severe illness, but the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants have the potential to cause a spike in infections over the summer, just as children return to school and a second booster may have been lost, he said.

Note, Subvariant BA.4 made up 5.4 percent of the variance in the United States for the week of June 5, according to CDC estimates, while Subvariant BA.5 made up 7.7 percent of variance.

Meanwhile, the seven-day moving average of US COVID-19 cases stood at 105.615 on June 11, up 6.7 percent from the previous week.

Separately, the European Union's disease prevention agency said on Monday, the new subvariances are spreading faster than other variants, which could lead to more hospitalizations and deaths, as they become dominant on the continent.