US health officials warned that the variant, which makes up a majority of cases in the country, was more resistant than previous variants to immunity, including from prior COVID-19 infection.
“If you’ve not gotten a shot in 2022, first of all, getting one now protects you for the rest of the summer, into the fall. Second, it does not preclude you from being able to get abivalent vaccine in the fall,” Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House’s COVID-19 response coordinator, told reporters at a briefing.
BA.5 does not appear to be associated with greater disease severity or hospitalizations compared to the most recent subvariants, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, an infectious disease expert who is the chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden.