Omicron has spawned yet another sub-variant that appears to be more infectious and capable of evading existing immunity than many of those that have come before it. Globally, the EG.5 variant – nicknamed “Eris” after the Greek goddess of strife and discord – is steadily growing in prevalence, but there’s currently no sign that it causes more severe disease. Here’s what we know so far.
The ability of EG.5 to evade neutralisation with antibodies means people are more likely to be infected with it, even if they have previously been vaccinated against COVID-19 and/or infected with earlier versions of the Omicron variant.
Neutralising antibodies are molecules that bind to viruses and destroy them before they get inside our cells and start replicating – so they are an important early line of defense against infection.
However, previous exposure to Omicron and/or other SARS-CoV-2 variants makes it highly likely that other forms of immune defense, including T-cells, will recognise and destroy virus-infected cells, making severe infection less likely. Even so, the risk of Long COVID remains, so it is important to try and avoid infection if you can.
The rate of spread has been relatively low this year, and Covid hospitalizations in California were lower last month than at any time since the pandemic took hold. There are some signs, however, that this rosy picture may soon change. New Covid cases have been rising this month in California and across the country. While experts say the trend isn’t a cause for alarm, they do agree it’s something to monitor if you’re hoping to avoid infection.
“We had sort of a nadir this past summer, and it stopped dropping and started to increase a bit,” Erica Pan, the state epidemiologist, said last week in a briefing with health care workers. “I’m sure many of you are anecdotally both hearing about friends and family and colleagues, as well as seeing more or hearing more about some more circulating Covid.”
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