A fast-spreading new subvariant of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 — nicknamed “Eris” by health watchers but formally known as EG.5 — recently became the most prevalent strain in the United States, according to recent official estimates, though it does not appear to cause significant illness or pose immediate danger.
According to a Center for Disease Control estimate from Saturday, the EG.5 variant makes up approximately 17 percent of all Covid cases in the US, making it the most dominant strain of the disease.
That number is an increase from the roughly 12 percent share of EG.5-variant cases among all strains in a July 22 calculation. The variant has also been reported in several countries.
There are now 12 confirmed cases of Omicron subvariant EG.5 in the
Philippines, the Department of Health said in its bio-surveillance report from July 26 to August 1.
A Reuters report previously said the World Health Organization (WHO) categorized the Omicron sub-variant as a “variant of interest.”
Cases of the fast-spreading variant have been reported in the US, China, South Korea, Japan, and Canada, but the WHO said it did not seem to pose more of a threat to public health than other variants.
A total of 132 new coronavirus infections were recorded in the Philippines on Wednesday, pushing the nationwide caseload to 4,147,101.
The dangers from Covid have sharply declined with vaccinations, but new variants have continued to arise.
The EG.5 variant exists under the Omicron family of strains that began circulating in late 2021 and has since birthed several mutations.
Medical experts have said that EG.5 does not seem to cause more severe illness than previous strains of the coronavirus, and no figures from the White House or Capitol Hill have issued strong statements on the matter.
“At this time, there is no evidence indicating EG.5 is able to spread more easily, and currently available treatments and vaccines are expected to continue to be effective against this variant,” a CDC spokesperson said.
The World Health Organization has begun tracking EG.5, but has not labeled it as a variant of interest or concern.
In comparison, the XBB.1.5 strain, which previously dominated transmission in the U.S., is listed as a variant of interest.
Globally, hospitalizations from Covid have generally declined since the beginning of the year.
Although hospitalizations from the coronavirus have risen slightly over the summer in the U.S., the Biden administration has continued to express optimism about beating the pandemic.
It has ended the public health emergency, and the White House Covid czar left earlier this summer.
