While many have thrown caution to the wind and returned to somewhat normal life after more than two years of fighting a pandemic, some experts say we may be celebrating too soon with variants on the rise.
Dr. Greg Poland from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester joined News Talk 830 WCCO’s Jordana Green and Adam Carter to discuss why we still need to be concerned when it comes to COVID.
Poland shared that he is still concerned about the virus that has shocked the world as the disease continues to sprout new variants, causing outbreaks in some parts of the country. The two sub-variants the doctor says are more worrying and infectious than omicron are BA.4 and BA.5.
“[BA.4 and BA.5] are the most contagious coronavirus variants we have seen yet,” Poland said.
Poland was frank about what can be done to combat these variants and keep up with them, saying that it’s “really difficult.”
Hospitalizations across the country have doubled since May, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
Walensky gave the update during a media briefing on Tuesday, and a report from NBC News found that hospitalizations are up in all but seven states.
Walenksy also gave an update on the number of new cases attributed to the two infectious variants, noting that 65% of new cases were BA.5 and 16.3% were BA.4 for the week ending July 9.
Poland recommends that everyone makes sure they are up to date on their shots, get a booster as recommended by the CDC, wear high-quality N95 or KN95 masks, and if you have symptoms, test to know whether or not to quarantine.
The pandemic has not been easy for anyone, and Poland said that fighting to “depoliticize” COVID to save lives has been challenging and that the public needs to understand the danger behind these strains of the virus.
Walensky shared that the sub-variants are “more transmissible and more immune evading” than other versions of the omicron variant, and they don’t appear to be stopping.
“These variants are just coming one after another and to tell you the truth, what I tell people is ‘we’re playing with fire here,’” Poland said. “We are playing with our children’s and loved ones’ health and well-being.”
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