JAKARTA - The White House urges Americans over the age of 50 to get a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, to anticipate the spread of the Omicron BA.5 subvariant.
US health officials warn that the variant, which makes up the majority of cases in the country, is more resistant than previous variants to immunity, including from previous COVID-19 infections.
BA.5 is estimated to account for 65 percent of the coronavirus variants circulating in the United States in the last week, said Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Officials urged people 50 years of age or older to get a booster shot and said it would not prevent them from getting another 'bivalent' booster, designed to fend off Omicron more specifically later this year.
"If you haven't had your shot by 2022, first of all, getting one now protects you for the rest of the summer, into the fall. Second, it doesn't prevent you from being able to get the bivalent vaccine in the fall." Ashish Jha, the White House's COVID-19 response coordinator, told reporters at a briefing.
The BA.5 and BA.4 subvariants together accounted for more than 80 percent of the variants outstanding last week, with BA.4 making up 16 percent, Walensky said at the same briefing.
The average seven-day daily COVID-19 hospital admission has doubled in the United States since early May, he said.
The BA.5 subvariance did not appear to be associated with greater disease severity or hospitalization compared to the more recent subvariance, Dr. Anthony Fauci, infectious disease expert who is chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden.
"Variants will continue to emerge if the virus circulates globally and in this country. Don't let it interfere with our lives, but we cannot deny that it is a reality that we have to face," Fauci said.
The White House said the broad circulation of the BA.5 subvariant means new cases are likely to increase in the coming weeks.
"Immunity is reduced, be it immunity after infection or immunity after vaccine, although immediate protection after infection or vaccine is generally good protection," Fauci explained.
"If you're infected with BA.1, you really don't have much good protection against BA.4/5."
The United States approved the booster in March, citing data from Israeli research showing that a fourth injection prevents hospitalization and death in the elderly.
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Scientists have questioned whether it is needed by younger and healthier people and Israeli data show no benefit in this group.
Meanwhile, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended that COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers change their booster injection designs to better combat the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.
Health regulators and White House officials are discussing making people under the age of 50 eligible for booster shots, but the final decision rests with the FDA and CDC, Fauci said.
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