Coronavirus reinfections will likely increase throughout the summer as two Omicron subvariants – BA.4 and BA.5 – become dominant in the U.S.
, with BA.5 making up 13.3% of cases and BA.4 making up 8.3% of cases. The previous week, the two variants accounted for 13% of cases.
So far, the subvariants appear to cause less severe disease and death. Despite higher case levels, there are fewer COVID-19 patients in intensive care units than at other times during the pandemic, and the daily death rate continues to hover around 300. BA.4 and BA.5 also appear to be better at replicating in lung cells than the original Omicron variants. The subvariants also seem to be mutating in a way that makes them more resistant to monoclonal antibody treatments such as Evusheld and antiviral treatments such as Paxlovid.
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