New COVID Variant EG.5 Now Dominant in U.S., CDC Says
Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.
By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Aug. 8, 2023 – A variant nicknamed Eris now accounts for the largest proportion of new COVID infections across America.
About 17.3% of U.S. COVID cases are believed to have been caused by the variant, formally known as EG.5, in early August, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That number is 7.5% higher than it was in early July.
Other dominant variants include XBB.1.16, with 15.6% of cases, and XBB.2.23, with 11.2% of cases, CDC data show. Another 10.3% of COVID cases are from XBB.1.5, while 8.6% of cases were caused by an XBB-related variant known as FL.1.5.1.
Experts say EG.5 might be beating out other variants because it appears to have a "slightly beneficial mutation," CBS News reported.
Eris is one of several closely-related Omicron subvariants that have been competing for dominance in recent months. All of these variants are descendants of the XBB strain, which is the target of this fall's COVID shots.
"While the emergency of COVID has been lifted and we're no longer in a crisis phase, the threat of COVID is not gone. So, keeping up with surveillance and sequencing remains absolutely critical," Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization's technical lead for COVID, said in a statement last month.
Because the CDC has slowed its tracking of COVID variants, it was not able to project EG.5's emergence until now since only California, Georgia and New York have had enough sequences to update national data, CDC officials said.
While tens of thousands of sequences were uploaded to virus databases earlier in the pandemic, now that is less than 2,000, CBS News reported.
"Because Nowcast is modeled data, we need a certain number of sequences to accurately predict proportions in the present," CDC spokesperson Kathleen Conley told CBS News. "For some regions, we have limited numbers of sequences available, and therefore are not displaying Nowcast estimates in those regions, though those regions are still being used in the aggregated national Nowcast."
Sources
- CBS News
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted August 2023
Further Support and Information on COVID-19
Read this next
Extended Course of Paxlovid Adds No Benefit for Those With Long COVID
FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 -- An extended course of the antiviral drug Paxlovid won’t ease a person’s Long COVID symptoms, a new study finds. People who took Paxlovid for...
FDA Panel OKs New COVID Vaccine for Fall
THURSDAY, June 6, 2024 -- A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Wednesday recommended updating the formula for COVID vaccines ahead of a fall campaign that will...
Long COVID's Toll Outlined in New Report
THURSDAY, June 6, 2024 -- Long COVID continues to plague millions of Americans as the health costs of the pandemic linger four years later, a new report warns. In a hefty...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.
