BA.5 Variant

By Noralyn Onto Dudt

Ooh... la... la ! The masks are off, the planes are full, restaurants and resorts are packed. The world is humming again. And BA.5 comes marching in, spoiling a bit of fun and dashing the hopes of millions.

The latest Omicron offshoot called the BA.5 variant is now making its rounds and risk of infection is growing, signaling the world that the coronavirus is still around. The arrival of subvariant BA.5 should be a reminder that the finish line in this race is nowhere to be seen. As of now, BA.5 and a closely related variant, BA.4, account for about 70% of all infections in the United States according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC). The rapid spread of the BA.5 omicron subvariant is a window into what the future with this coronavirus looks like.

We've seen this pattern before. The original omicron variant was more contagious than the delta variant before it became quickly dominant last winter. After a brief lull, that strain was replaced by a more contagious subvariant,  BA.2. Infections caused by BA.2 have started decreasing,  just in time for subvariant  BA.4 and BA.5 to take over.

According to Dr. Topol, a professor of Molecular Medicine at Scripps Research,  the BA.5 "is the worst version that we've seen." Apparently,  it can escape the immune system and with that characteristic, it has  high levels of transmissibility, well beyond earlier versions of omicron. At the core of the BA.5 difference is its biology. Evolution has given it more fitness, a term that incorporates its ability to transmit, grow and evade immunity. Multiple studies suggest that it is by far  "the most immune-evasive variant."

This is definitely not what the world wants to hear. Restrictions and mandates are long gone. Air travel is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels and we all want to keep it that way. Politicians are reluctant to talk about it. Most people are done with masking, social distancing and...well...the pandemic. The prevailing attitude in most people is, "oh well... let's take our chances with the virus," and are letting their guard down.

People are now seeing the pandemic as part of the fabric of modern life.

Conclusion from various studies suggests that there is a need to reinforce the familiar mitigation measures : high-quality masks, better air filtration and ventilation,  and avoiding exposure in crowded indoor spaces.

Population-level immunity is one reason the virus remains in mutational overdrive.  The risk of reinfections has increased because newly emergent subvariants are better able to evade the front-line defense of the immune system, and there is essentially no effort at community level to limit transmission.

That said, vaccination remains an important, if still underused, weapon against the virus—even if it's not that effective at stopping new infections. Vaccines are based on the original strain of the virus that emerged in Wuhan, China in late 2019. The vaccines were a biomedical victory. While most vaccines take five to ten years to develop and manufacture, the remarkable mRNA shots appeared in less than a year. Teams of dedicated scientists around the world  plumbed old research and studies  and came up with vaccines that were safe, efficacious, free, and dramatically reduced serious illness and death. Now, the Food and Drug Administration is asking vaccine makers to come up with new formulas that target BA.5 and BA.4. Those boosters could be ready this Fall. However,  there is no guarantee that these latest subvariants will still be dominant four or five months from now. The virus is not only evolving; it's also doing so with remarkable speed.  As the virus may continually outrace the vaccines, everyone  needs to do his/her  part--those  who  have not been vaccinated nor taken the boosters, it is time to do so. Otherwise,  the virus will continue to run rampant, mutate and wield its power over all of us.

 

Noralyn Onto Dudt is a City of Batac native currently residing in North Bethesda, Maryland.