The number of new Covid-19 cases in the US increased with the appearance of the new Eris variant

Hospitalizations for Covid-19 have been rising in the US since early August due to the emergence of the new Omicron variant EG.5, also known as “Eris".

Số ca mắc mới Covid-19 tại Mỹ gia tăng với sự xuất hiện của biến thể mới 'Eris'

The number of new Covid-19 cases in the US increased with the appearance of a new variant Eris. (Source: AFP)

The cause was determined to be the hot weather, causing many activities to be held indoors, instead of outdoors. This increased the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, while many people had weakened immune systems despite having been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Notably, in the last week of July, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the number of hospitalizations due to Covid-19 in the US increased by 43% compared to the last week of June.

On August 9, Reuters news agency quoted the US CDC as saying that the new Omicron variant EG.5, also known as “Eris”, is spreading more and more in the US. According to estimates, this variant currently accounts for about 17% of Covid-19 cases in this country.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on August 9 announced that it needed to pay attention to the Omicron EG.5 sub-variant after recording the increase and widespread spread of this variant. In addition to the US, a number of other countries such as the UK, France and Japan have also recorded a sharp increase in the number of cases in the past few weeks.

According to the WHO assessment, this variant appears to be more transmissible than other circulating variants, possibly due to protein mutations. The WHO also said that this variant shows the ability to "evade" immunity. However, to date, there is no indication that EG.5 causes severe symptoms and the WHO determined that this variant poses a "low" risk to global public health.

According to medical professor Jesse Goodman at Georgetown University (USA), this increase in Covid-19 infections is not a global outbreak, but people need to be vigilant about the epidemic, especially for vulnerable groups and people with underlying diseases.

Health experts warn that people at risk should consider getting a booster shot with the available vaccines and that wearing a mask remains an option. Vulnerable people who develop symptoms should get tested early so they can be treated with antiviral drugs like Pfizer’s Paxlovid, which can reduce the risk of hospitalization and death.

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