Covid Eris: What to know about new variant EG.5 dominating U.S. cases

A general view of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Tami Chappell/File Photo/File Photo

NEW YORK, Aug 14 - COVID infections and hospitalizations are on the rise in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Health officials are pointing at the EG.5 "Eris" coronavirus, a subvariant of the Omicron lineage that originally emerged November of 2021., which has been nicknamed by some as "Eris", as a "variant of interest," indicating that it should be more closely watched than others because of mutations that might make it more contagious or severe.

Still, the WHO said at this time it does not seem to pose more of a threat to public health than other variants and that there "is no evidence of an increase in disease severity directly associated with EG.5."EG.5 had been found in more than 50 countries as of August 8, according to the WHO. It is the most common and fastest growing COVID-19 subvariant in the U.S., estimated to be responsible for around 17% of current COVID cases, according to the CDC.

COVID-19 related hospitalizations are up more than 40% off of recent lows hit in June, but are still more than 90% below peak levels hit during the January 2022 Omicron outbreak, according to CDC data. The amount of virus identified in wastewater around the country and the number of weekly prescriptions for COVID treatment Paxlovid have all risen significantly over the past month, albeit from low levels.

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