The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that the BA.5 Variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is now the most dominant strain in the US. Currently, there is no evidence that this variant causes more serious illness. However, case numbers and hospitalizations do seem to be rising and it has been suggested that this new variant may be able to evade the protections provided by vaccines and previous infections. The term immune-evasive is being used to describe the new variant’s ability to get around the immune response. At this point, there isn’t enough data to be sure that BA.5 actually is immune evasive. The BA.5 variant seems to have similar symptoms as previous versions of Omicron. Current recommendations to protect yourself include wearing a mask, social distancing, and vaccination.

As of July 12th, there are approximately 103,907 new cases of COVID occurring daily in the US, though this number is likely lower than the actual count. Many people are now testing at home and not reporting their findings. The average daily death rate nationally is 281 and the average daily number of new hospitalizations is 5144.

While the US is experiencing a surge in the BA.5 variant, a new strain, omicron subvariant BA.2.75 nicknamed Centaurus, is emerging in India.  A subvariant of BA.2  the new strain was first identified in India in May. It has since been identified in 10 countries including Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. There are only 2 known cases of BA.2.75 in the US right now, and while the CDC is aware of the new variant, they are not yet tracking it as the numbers are too low.

CDC has developed Nowcast a model that estimates the current proportions of circulating variants in the US. This is updated weekly on Tuesdays and may be accessed here.

The CDC infection, hospitalization, and mortality data tracker may be found here.

To find your community’s levels and prevention steps by county click here.

These data are updated weekly.