Coronavirus week 115: BA.5 and reinfection

Ed Yong has a good summary of what we know (and don't) about this Omicron subvariant.

First, despite an increased number of breakthrough infections on the vaccinated, he notes that this is still primarily a disease of the unvaccinated. And, it causes worse reinfections on those unvaccinated who were infected before than the vaccinated not infected before.

Second, no, it's not more transmissible than measles. In fact, it's no more transmissionble, or not much more, than the BA.2 subvariant and less than the original BA.1.

Now, Yong moves past the virus itself to politics.

He rightly notes that President Biden has "promoted" (Yong's word) laxer COVID policies.

Why?

Per Bill Clinton, with an arpeggio: "It's the economy before the election, stupid." (Yong also calls out other political leaders and some in media.) It's a different stanza of the same hymn that Trump was singing in 2020, #BlueAnon.

From there, Yong pivots back to the disease. Even months from now, he says, its "dull roar" level could still leave it twice as deadly as annual flu season.

Finally? Hope. New boosters that target BA.4 and BA.5 could be here by October. More on such boosters from a piece last month, before the FDA announcement on boosters and these variants. Of course, Omicron could have further mutated by then.

That said? Will there be any Biden Administration financial assistance for the uninsured to get boosted? Or will Neoliberal Joe just let them lump it?

As for a pan-coronavirus vaccine? Well, it's still just around the corner, but that corner looks closer than the ones for strong AI or nuclear fusion power.

As for the realities on the ground? I've seen multiple people masked (presumed infected) in the rural western portion of my county, population in area no more than 10,000.

And, one other thing new with BA.5? Reduced time for re-infection, now just 28 days, according to Australian health officials. The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee is Oz's national public health decision-making committee.

The Mayo Clinic has more on all of this, including how this remains a disease of the unvaccinated, by at least 5 times.