New COVID Variant EG.5 Spreading in the US

Facts

• According to the latest estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), EG.5, a new coronavirus variant, now accounts for the largest proportion of new COVID infections in the country.¹
• EG.5, Nicknamed Eris had been circulating in the US since at least April, but the offshoot of the omicron variant now accounts for 17.3% of all COVID cases.²
• On Wednesday, the WHO upgraded EG.5's status from a variant under monitoring to a variant of interest, as cases, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations increased globally.³
• The UK Health Security Agency has stated that EG.5.1 — EG. 5's subvariant — is the second most common coronavirus strain in the country, making up an estimated 15% of sequenced COVID cases in England.⁴
• The concern over EG.5 comes after more than 9K people were hospitalized in the US with COVID in the last week of July, up from about 6.3K at the end of June.⁵
• The symptoms for EG.5 remain similar to other COVID variants, and include a cough, fever, shortness of breath, fatigue, body aches, and loss of taste or smell.⁶

Sources: ¹KSBW, ²ABC News, ³CNN, ⁴Guardian, ⁵NBC, and ⁶Washington Post.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by CNN. Although there has been an increase in COVID cases, there is hope that EG.5 will not be as lethal as past variants because it comes after Americans have developed widespread immunity through vaccination programs. Most cases should be mild, though patients with health concerns should still take precautions.
• Narrative B, as provided by U.S. News & World Report. Despite most people wanting to ignore it, COVID hasn't gone anywhere and new variants are constantly circulating. The spread of EG.5 has come along with a recent increase in hospitalizations — this should serve as a reminder that COVID is still a significant health threat and must be treated as such.

Predictions