Johns Hopkins doctor explains new dominant COVID variant, EG.5

BALTIMORE - There has been a recent uptick in COVID cases and hospitalizations and the CDC reports that there is a new dominant COVID variant in the United States.

The EG.5 variant is transmitting at a faster rate than any other variant.

A medical expert told WJZ that even though COVID cases are relatively low, COVID-19 shouldn't be ignored.

"COVID is still a very serious disease, particularly for certain parts of the population," said Dr. Andrew Pekosz, a professor and vice chair of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at Johns Hopkins. "Those people are still prone to getting severe disease."

CDC data shows that a new variant, EG.5, makes up the majority of new COVID-19 infections nationwide. 

As of August 5, the EG.5 variant made up 17.3 percent of the total cases in the united states.

However, Dr. Pekosz said that even though this variant is transmitting at a faster rate than other variants, it isn't causing more serious diseases. 

"We just have to be aware, be vigilant," Dr. Pekosz said. "We don't have to overreact to the surge in cases."

Dr. Pekosz says that people who are in the vulnerable population should be especially vigilant.  

"Even though COVID cases are down now, we can't forget how serious of a disease it is," he said.

Dr. Pekosz said that if you have the bivalent booster vaccine, this EG.5 variant might escape some of that immune response, especially if you got that booster several months ago. 

The first new COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be available by the end of September once the FDA and CDC sign off on the new shots. 

The updated shots are expected to protect you from this new variant.