In June, the BA.5 subvariant of Omicron continued to ravage the state of Washington, more than doubling its proportion of the sequenced COVID-19 cases in the state and causing significant infection levels in King County.
The most current data, which was provided on Wednesday, showed that as of the week ending June 25, BA.5 represented 37.3 percent of sequenced COVID cases, up from 9.8 percent the week of May 29.
As per the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the BA.5 variety of SARS-CoV-2 has carried over as the predominant strain in the nation. Given the prevalence of at-home testing, it is also challenging to measure exactly, although there are signs that hospitalizations and reinfections are rising.
According to county health officer Dr Jeff Duchin, rates of COVID community transmission in King County are still high. They are greater than they were at the height of the delta surge last summer, but they are still well below omicron-wave levels.
By Thursday, the county had recorded an average of 941 daily cases, up from 620 instances each day in mid-August of the previous year.
Virus hospitalizations in King County have tripled since April, albeit they are not increasing as fast as they did during previous waves, according to Duchin, whereas COVID mortality continues to be relatively low.
According to him, long-term sustained preventative methods are necessary because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fast emergence of new variations. It’s crucial to realize that laziness is not the solution.
The percentage of positive tests is increasing as well as is presently larger than during the majority of previous waves of the pandemic, despite the fact that the genuine infection rate is significantly undercounted. The coronaviruses BA.5 and BA.4 are the most contagious types to date and are immune to past infections and vaccinations.
The number of COVID cases in Washington is increasing, but it’s challenging for health officials to pinpoint exact rates of transmission.
The Washington State Department of Health spokesperson, Rachael Sims, mentioned in the statement, “Cases overall seem to be slightly rising at this stage, though it is difficult to determine if these short-term trends are more representative of testing rates versus actual infections.”
