There is no evidence that BA.5 causes more severe disease

(CNN) — There is no evidence that the BA.5 subvariant is causing more severe disease, but because the omicron branch is more easily transmitted and there are so many cases, the level of hospitalizations and deaths is rising, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Saturday. , director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, to CNN’s Laura Coates.

Fauci indicated that the United States is registering between 300 and 400 deaths per day, which “is not as bad as the 3,000 per day we had several months ago, but it is still an unacceptably high level of deaths and hospitalizations.”

“So we have to do better than what we’re doing and it’s not happening, because there are fewer hospitalizations than there were months ago and there’s this feeling that it’s normal and it’s acceptable to have this rate of infection. It is not. We have to do better,” she stated.

Fauci emphasized the importance of interventions like testing, staying up-to-date on Covid-19 vaccines, and masking when recommended to reduce the chances of Covid-19 replicating and mutating in the community.

“By slowing the circulation of the virus in the community through vaccinations and boosting and masking where appropriate, and testing so you can keep infected people apart, you reduce the likelihood that you’ll get new variants,” he said.

“And with regard to vaccines, it is important that you take them and not only get a booster, but as there are more variants, we will update the next level of boosters so that when we get to the fall, it is very likely that we will have an updated booster. that better addresses the circulating variant at that time”.