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A new COVID-19 variant has emerged. Here's what we know about EG.5 so far (www.ctvnews.ca)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/canada@lemmy.ca
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The variant is called EG.5 and is a descendant of Omicron.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that EG.5 accounted for roughly 17.3 per cent — or one in six — of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. in the past two weeks.

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[–] 16 points 3 years ago (2 children)

Presumably as a descendent of omicron... It is probably easier to catch and less serious. But you'd think they'd address it...

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  • [–] [S] 18 points 3 years ago

    "I don't know that it's time to worry about this (EG.5) just yet. We know very little about this new variant. There's currently no evidence to suggest that it causes more severe illness. And the CDC is indicating that it does appear to be susceptible to COVID vaccines, which is good news."

    From an AMA gathering on July 26, (speaker is Andrea Garcia, JD, MPH, vice president, science, medicine & public health, American Medical Association)

    link to PDF here

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  • [–] 5 points 3 years ago

    Less serious than what? If my aged brain remembers correctly, Omicron severity is comparable to the original strain, only making it less serious than Delta. As I understand it, the primary factor in reduced severity was that vaccines were available and most people got the vaccine.

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