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The subvariant omicron BA. 5 is expanding coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in Michigan and the United States.
“Now we’re on another wave,” said Dr. Dennis Cunningham, medical director of infection control and prevention at Detroit-based Henry Ford Health. it is also very similar and also reasons some of the cases. “
The BA. 5 subgeneration now accounts for about 65 of the new cases in the U. S. In the U. S. , said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. USA Hospitalizations for COVID-19 have doubled since the beginning of May, he said.
Known cases of the virus in Michigan have risen as nearly 34 percent in the past three weeks, from an average of 1780 new cases in the week ending June 21 to 2383 new cases reported in the week ending July 12, according to state data.
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And the percentage of coronavirus testing rose to 19. 6 percent statewide on Monday, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported.
Hospital admissions for others with COVID-19 are thirteen percent higher over the past seven days in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties, Cunningham said.
“We’re at the point of past waves,” he said. I think we’re at the beginning. . . They are criticizing us too much, but I hope that it will soon begin to resemble other waves of force. “
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the state’s leading medical officer, stopped short of saying Michigan has yet entered a coronavirus wave.
Judging only through the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 network grade map. In the U. S. , he said Michigan appears to be a low-risk state for coronavirus transmission.
“We still look pretty good with most of our regions in the green,” Bagdasarian told the Free Press on Tuesday. “Now, do I think we will continue like this? Probably not. We want to be prepared for cases to increase. “We know that BA. 4 and BA. 5 are spreading in the country and in our region as well. “
State fitness officials, he said, are closely following the scenario, taking into account several parameters, adding knowledge derived from wastewater, the percentage of coronavirus tests, new cases, hospitalizations and what appear to be geographic differences in coronavirus transmission.
“One of the things we saw last summer is that the southern states piled up in the number of instances before us. It could have something to do with very warm southern states, (where) other people move indoors in air-conditioned spaces in the summer,” Bagdasarian said.
“While in places like Michigan, it’s our time and a lot of other people are moving outdoors for socialization. So, our construction in the cases came a little later last year. We began to see construction as schools reopened. So I think there are some other points that need to be taken into account. “
Still, he acknowledged, it’s tricky to get an accurate picture of the extent of the BA. 5 subvariant’s spread in the state, as genetic sequencing can take a week or more.
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“Our knowledge of sequencing is a bit late. It’s never real-time knowledge,” Bagdasarian said.
What is clear, however, is that Michiganis want to be prepared for an increase that won’t be completely obvious for a few weeks.
“We have the equipment to be able to trump some other increase,” he said of vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, home testing and treatments for COVID-19. “It’s just a question about whether the citizens of Michigan need to use them. In fact, I hope we’re not so tired of the pandemic that we’re neglecting or neglecting those amazing teams we didn’t have two years ago. “
More important points are emerging about the BA. 5 subvariant, but it’s not yet clear whether it causes more serious illness than previous strains of the virus, Walensky said Tuesday.
“But we know it’s more transmissible and more immune,” he said. This means it can infect other people who have recently contracted the virus. Some new studies suggest that it is conceivable for a user to become reinfected at 4 weeks. after a past infection with some other variant of the virus.
It is also more likely to cause progressive infections in vaccinated people. That’s why COVID-19 vaccine boosters are now so important for eligible people, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and medical adviser to the president. .
“If you’ve been inflamed or vaccinated and it’s time for a booster, that’s when you pass by and get the booster,” he said.
COVID-19 vaccines have shown coverage against serious illnesses and deaths caused by other subvariants of omicron, Walensky said, “and also for BA. 4 and 5. “
But few Americans eligible for booster shots have taken them.
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About 55 percent of Michigan citizens eligible for a first booster dose gained one, according to CDC data. And only 28. 2% of Michigan citizens over the age of 50 who are eligible for an instant souvenir received one.
“My message right now is very simple. It’s that those AmericansArray. . . get your booster shot right away,” Walensky said.
In addition to re-infecting other people and evading vaccine protection, the subvariant BA. 5 is also particularly more transmissible than previous strains of the virus.
“Over the past few months, we’ve noticed that successive variants have a small transmission merit over the afterlife,” Fauci said. “And right now we’re with BA. 4/5, and we don’t know what the long-term holds. “because we could have even more subvariants. “
Vaccines, he said, are the key to living life as often as possible and preventing the emergence of new variants.
“We must not allow it to disrupt our lives,” he said, “but we cannot deny that it is a truth we have to face. . . The good news is that we have the team to do it. We want to keep virus levels as low as possible and that’s our best defense. If a virus doesn’t reflect and spread very strongly, it has less chance of mutation, which gives it less chance of evolving from some other variant. “
No, Dr. Asish Jha, White House coronavirus response coordinator.
“The knowledge about this is very clear, and that is that if you are over 50, this additional reminder particularly reduces your threat of going to the hospital, going to intensive care (intensive care unit) and dying,” Jha said. very little of what we do in medicine has the kind of benefits we see with that extra injection.
“Let’s be clear: if you get vaccinated today, you may not be eligible to get the variant-specific vaccine since we entered the last fall and winter component. Therefore, it is not a compromise. We have This is a wonderful way to protect yourself. “
Henry Ford’s Cunningham agreed: “Get the booster dose of that moment now,” he said. “With the universal vaccine, once the clinical trials are over, it still wants to be tested. two months.
“We’re going to be on this roller coaster for a while. “
“I think it’s time to take off your mask when we’re in public or crowded places,” Cunningham said. COVID threat points or if you live with someone who has more threat points. “
Choose meetings and occasions over those held indoors, he said.
“When you’re outside, I feel much safer. There’s more air circulation, other people tend not to be as close to each other,” Cunningham said.
But if you go to a big concert where other people are around others, even if it’s outside, it probably makes sense to wear a mask,” he said.
Bagdasarian supplies immediate antigen tests at home.
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“It’s vital to check if you have symptoms, if you think you’ve been exposed or if you’re going to relate to vulnerable people, who are possibly immunocompromised, etc. ,” he said. it’s very important to keep the source of over-the-counter checks at home. “
If you contract the virus, he said it’s vital to know if you’re eligible for remedies such as monoclonal antibody treatment or Paxlovid, the COVID-19 antiviral tablet Paxlovid.
It’s possible.
Jha said Tuesday that talks “have been going on for some time” about how the federal government can protect Americans from the virus. However, he said, those decisions are made through the U. S. Food and Drug Administration. U. S. and CDC.
“I know the FDA is contemplating this,” he said. And I know that CDC scientists are also thinking about it and knowledge. The resolution depends only on them. “
Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress. com. Follow her on Twitter @kristenshamus.
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This article made the impression on the Detroit Free Press: COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations on the rise as BA. 5 pushes Michigan up