Dr. Fauci is worried about a pair of troublesome Covid variant.
Fauci told CBS News on Friday that the two descendants of the BA.5 subvariant are dangerous.
There is no guarantee that the two strains will replace BA.5 as the most popular variant in the country. If they spread quickly, they could reverse a decline in Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
Fauci, the president's chief medical adviser, said that they don't want to proclaim victory too early. That is the reason why we need to keep an eye out for these new variations.
The majority of current U.S. cases are made up of BA.5 The New York City metropolitan area is considered a bellwether for Covid waves due to its dense population and high volume of international travelers.
Fauci referred to how quickly the strains spread as a concern. According to the U.K. Health Security Agency, the strains show a growth advantage over BA.5.
Fauci noted that BQ. 1.1 is particularly good at dodging the protective antibodies you get from previous infections.
BQ. 1.1's ability to evade antibodies was far exceeding that of BA.5. The study found that BQ. 1.1 was able to evade immunity from a previous BA.5 infection.
The new omicron-specific booster shots may provide some protection against the strains that come from BA. 5. Pfizer reported last week that the new shot generated a strong immune response against both omicron's ba.4 and ba.5 subvariants.
Fauci said that there will be some cross-protection that you can boost up.
It's possible to protect yourself against the virus by wearing a mask. If you live in a county with a high level of Covid, the CDC recommends that you cover up.
Fauci said that it was possible that the U.S. would see enough of an increase to encourage indoor masking again.
He hoped that wasn't the case.
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