SARS-CoV-2 has changed incrementally, making the EG.5.1 variant more transmissible, say two Australia-based epidemiologists.
The World Health Organization classified it as a “variant under monitoring” on Jul 19 after a surge in COVID-19 infections from early July. It has been increasingly reported across the globe, particularly in Asia.. This follows the rise of a particular variant, EG.5.1, known as Eris. But it has not been classified a “variant of concern”.
At this stage, there is no evidence EG.5.1 causes more severe disease than other Omicron variants, and it seems to cause similar symptoms. and other Omicron variants. The current variant of interest list also includes two other Omicron cousins - XBB 1.5 and XBB 1.16 . Both have been circulating in Australia since the start of the year.
The good news is the bivalent vaccine antibody responses to EG.5.1 are similar to those for variants that dominated earlier in the year in Australia. Encouragingly, Australia’s overall infection rates continue to decline, as do hospitalisations and COVID-related deaths, antiviral scripts, and reports of cases in aged care.Related:India first saw this variant back in May, but it has also seen only sporadic cases, and no major rise in overall infections. Like Australia, it is the XBB family of Omicron variant that continue to dominate in India, accounting for 90 to 92 per cent of infections.
It’s also heartening that emerging variants aren’t genetically that different, so our immunity, vaccines, testing and treatment are still effective in protecting us from serious illness.
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