The new strain of COVID, called the BA.5 variant, is responsible for recent upticks in Covid cases in deaths – with daily infections jumping 15% and deaths by 50% over the past week.
The variant is believed to be the most infectious form of Omicron to arrive yet. And worse, it may have the ability to evade natural Covid immunity provided by a previous infection.
So Dr. Fauci is once is once again recommending that Americans mask up in indoor public places, though he hastens to add no mandates are around the corner.
‘Everybody wants to put this pandemic behind us and feel and hope that it doesn’t exist. It does, the good news is we have the capability and the tools to address it, and we need to utilize those tools,’ Fauci, who serves as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease said.
‘For example, getting vaccinated if you’re not primarily vaccinated. If you’re do for a booster, get a booster.
‘And if you’re in an area of high dynamic of infection – and were talking about mandating anything – but recommending people when they are in indoor congregate settings to wear a mask. Those are simple doable things that can help prevent us from even having more of a problem then we are having now.’
We’re taking the good doc’s advice and masking up indoors.