Latest in BA.2.12.1

Two months is all it took. In mid-March, Omicron BA.2.12.1 and sister subvariant BA.2.12.2 made up only 1.5% of newly-sequenced positive tests in the U.S. Today, they comprise 57.9% of all new positive Covid test samples sequenced to determine the variant involved. And that roughly 58% is likely just about all…

There’s a growing chorus from public health officials being heard across the country this week, and it consists of one just word: “Masks.” Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer on a Zoom with reporters today recommended, “Everyone two years of age and older should wear a mask in indoor gatherings…

Los Angeles today surpassed the number of daily Covid cases it saw at the height of the summer 2021 surge, according to data released by officials. The county’s data dashboard indicates that on August 9, 2021, at the peak of the wave as a result of the Delta variant, there were 4248 new cases recorded in the region…

On Monday, New York City’s Commissioner of Health and Human Hygiene, Ashwin Vasan, issued an advisory to residents that “All individuals, regardless of vaccination status or past Covid-19 infection, should wear a mask at all times when indoors and in a public setting.” The announcement notes that “New York City is…

“We've got a lot of virus circulating now. And it's on its way up,” said Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody at a press briefing earlier this week. While case numbers are going up across the state, one region’s transmission levels are much higher than the rest: The Bay Area. The CDC’s color-coded “County…

In the past few weeks, everyone from late night hosts to country stars to comedians to many at the White House, including Vice President Kamala Harris, has contracted Covid. The uptick in boldfaced names testing positive is not a coincidence. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released today shows…

The average number of daily new Covid infections in Los Angeles County has jumped by about 300% during the past month and roughly 25% in the past week alone. Today, they topped 3,000 for the first time since mid-February. One month ago, the number of daily cases in L.A. was 1,060. But the increase has not translated…

In February, the first few cases of two new, more infectious variants were identified in the Northeastern United States. Dubbed BA.2.12.1 and BA.2.12.2, these sublineages of the BA.2 variant made up only 1.5% of newly-sequenced positive tests before March 19. But, warned New York State Public Health officials, the…

Throughout the pandemic, a rule of thumb has been that Covid-related hospitalizations tend to rise about two weeks after cases. It was just about two weeks ago that Los Angeles County saw its first, drastic jump in what had been a slow rise of daily cases, but thankfully no corresponding jump in hospitalizations has…

Just as most Americans have caught wind of the BA.2 variant of Omicron — which overtook the original Omicron as the dominant strain in the U.S. less than a month ago — another possibly faster-growing version of Omicron is quickly making inroads. The new Omicron sublineage BA.2.12.1 now accounts for 19% of all new…

“At present there are a number of Omicron sub-lineages we're following closely, including BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5 and another recombinant detected, made up of BA.1 and BA.2,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus today. That recombinant is called XE and, until today was the newest more-transmissible variant…