The subvariant accounts for nearly 55% of Covid infection samples that have undergone genetic sequencing. Even so, the spread of a more contagious strain does not guarantee the U.S. will endure a new wave of cases.
New infections have plummeted 96% since the peak of the unprecedented wave of omicron cases in January, according to a CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. Hospital admissions from Covid have plunged 92% from the peak of the winter spike, according to data from the CDC.
The CDC has shifted its focus to hospitalizations, an indicator of how much severe illness the virus is causing, when issuing public health guidance on Covid. Earlier this month, the CDC said 98% of the U.S. population lives in areas where they can go without face masks. Ali Mokdad, a leading epidemiologist at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, said Covid cases will continue to decline through the spring and summer due to built up immunity from vaccines and the winter omicron wave. Mokdad said another surge is possible in the winter as protection from the vaccines wanes.
However, Michael Osterholm — a top epidemiologist at the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota — said it is unclear how BA.2 will affect the U.S. It is difficult to predict what the variant's spread in one country means for another nation, because previous strains have affected parts of the world differently, he added.
Osterholm said the U.S. has had high levels of immunity before, only to see a major surge. In December, about 95% of the U.S. population ages 16 and older had antibodies against the virus either through vaccination or infection, according to a CDC survey of blood donor samples.Also on CNBC
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