What COVID variants are there now? Are they more severe? What to know as Sacramento cases rise
COVID-19 cases are back on the rise and new subvariants are trailing behind.
Sacramento County is at a “medium” COVID community level, as of Thursday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meaning case rates, hospital admissions and hospital bed use have increased.
Here’s what we know so far about the latest COVID-19 surge in Sacramento:
Sacramento County’s COVID outlook
There have been nearly 300,000 total COVID cases in the Sacramento County, according to the dashboard. The seven-day average as of May 21 is 498, a jump from 392 on May 14.
As of Tuesday, Sacramento County is at a 12% positivity rate, according to the California Department of Public Health.
For the rest of the Sacramento region, state health officials reported Placer County at a 14.2% positivity rate, El Dorado County at 13.9% and Yolo County at 3.4%.
What variants are in Sacramento and the U.S.?
According to the CDC variant tracker, prominent variants in the U.S. include:
- BA.2.12.1, a branch of BA.2 which constitutes 59% of cases in the country
- BA.2 which makes up about 35%
- the original omicron B.1.1.529 at 6%
- and BA.1.1 at 0.1%.
New omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 were possibly detected in 16 cases in Yolo County in May. They’ve also been recently detected in Santa Clara’s wastewater.
While it’s unclear where BA.4 and BA.5 originated, the subvariants were first detected in South Africa in January and February, according to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
BA.4 and BA.5 have since become dominant in South Africa and is anticipated to increase prominence in Europe soon. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has already designated BA.4 and BA.5 as variants of concern, citing their ability to evade waned immunity protection.
The CDC has not added BA.4 or BA.5 to its variant tracker.
Are the new variants more severe?
There’s limited data regarding the new subvariants, but according to the European CDC, they don’t appear to cause more severe infections, compared to the other omicron variants.
But health officials in Europe are warning countries to be ready. Considering previous surges from this lineage and the new subvariant’s ability to evade immunity from prior infections and vaccinations, they said cases will eventually rise and increase hospital and ICU admission as well.
What to do at “medium” COVID community level
With Sacramento at “medium,” the CDC is recommending people to stay updated with their COVID-19 vaccinations, get tested and wear a mask if you have symptoms. If you’re high risk of getting a severe infection, you should wear masks in indoor public spaces.
This story was originally published June 1, 2022, 9:51 AM.
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