New Variant EG.5 Becomes Prevalent in the United States, COVID Hospitalizations Tick Up
A new variant, known as EG.5, has become the most common strain of COVID-19 in the United States, according to federal data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). EG.5 is an offshoot of the omicron variant and a descendant of the XBB strain. It has been circulating in the country since at least April but has recently seen a significant increase in cases.
Data from the CDC shows that EG.5 now accounts for 17.3% of COVID infections, a significant increase from the estimated 1.1% at the end of May. This surge in cases comes as COVID hospitalizations in the U.S. have increased by 12.5% in the past week, amounting to a total of 9,056 hospitalizations, as reported by the federal health agency.
In the United Kingdom, the EG.5.1 variant, which falls under the EG.5 lineage, has also become the second most common strain, accounting for an estimated 14.55% of cases, according to the UK Health Security Agency.
However, public health experts have emphasized that there is currently no evidence to suggest that the EG.5 variant causes more severe illness. They highlight that it is normal for viruses to mutate and for new variants to emerge.
Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, explained, “Omicron is out there making minor variations. It’s having children, progeny, but they’re all closely related to omicron. They are contagious, but they are not more serious, so that’s excellent.”
Regarding the increase in hospitalizations, experts believe it could be attributed to several factors, including waning immunity and people starting to gather indoors. However, they stress that the numbers are still relatively low compared to earlier stages of the pandemic.
Dr. Shira Doron, chief infection control officer for Tufts Medicine, emphasized that framing the increase in cases as a percent increase can be misleading. She said, “If you take a low number and you talk about it in terms of percent increase, it’s going to sound a lot scarier than it is, right? So, in an extreme circumstance, if there was one COVID case in the world and then there were two, that would be 100% increase, which sounds really bad, but two is a pretty low number.”
Experts advise that unless there is evidence that the EG.5 variant or its sublineages are causing more severe disease, the previous guidance recommended by public health officials remains the same. This includes assessing one’s own risk tolerance, staying vigilant, and keeping up to date with vaccinations.
The World Health Organization currently lists EG.5 as a variant under monitoring, but experts consider it a positive sign of good surveillance rather than a cause for concern. Dr. Schaffner emphasized that having a surveillance system in place allows countries to be prepared for any new mutations that may emerge.
“The booster coming in the fall is based on XBB, and that was a gamble and that will always be a gamble because the strain is selected in June, and you can’t know for sure what strain is going to be predominant in the fall when it’s June,” Doron explained. “So, the booster will be an XBB monovalent booster, but that’s okay. The vaccines still work even when they’re not completely matched to the circulation.”
The CDC is expected to issue recommendations soon regarding a new COVID booster, just in time for the fall when COVID cases and hospitalizations typically increase.