US COVID-19 Cases Surge Again Due to BA.5 Variant; States Reportedly Have No New Measures To Manage Outbreak

COVID-19 cases in the United States are rising again, fueled by BA.5, which experts regard as the most transmissible variant, but new measures to control its spread are yet to be imposed by authorities.

The city's top physician in Chicago, where the COVID-19 warning level for the county was elevated to "high" last week, said there was no reason for residents to let the virus rule their lives. Louisiana's state health director compared a recent increase in COVID-19 cases to a deluge, calling it "a surge within a surge." Though, he described the situation as worrying but not alarming.

Additionally, in King County, Washington's public health officer, Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, stated on Thursday that authorities were considering reissuing a mask order but would rather let people wear masks voluntarily.

Dr. Duchin said: "We're not going to be able to have an infinite series of mandates forcing people to do this, that, and the other."

At least 40 states have seen an increase in transmissions resulting from the most recent outbreak, which was sparked by increased BA.5 subvariant cases nationwide since May, mainly in the Great Plains, West, and South. As per a report from Japan Times, hospital admissions in the previous two weeks have increased by 20 %, and on an ordinary day, there are more than 40,000 patients with COVID-19 in American hospitals.

There is a growing understanding that the efforts are limited, even though previous waves of the virus have demonstrated that a more transmissible variant results in more cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. The number of daily deaths from Covid is over 400, up 25% from one month ago.

Declaration of National Emergency Due to BA.5 Less Likely

The response from state officials has been largely subdued as the latest COVID-19 variant has driven up case numbers and increased hospitalizations and fatalities. This is a concession to the fact that their messages rarely resonate and that most people, including politicians, are prepared to move on.

In an interview with Politico, Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana said: "When you've said the same thing over and over about being vaccinated, being boosted, that if you're vulnerable and you're indoors with people who are not part of your household and you can't distance, you need to wear a mask - I mean, the message hasn't changed since the very beginning,"
He added that the "receptivity to the messaging" has limitations and "it becomes a diminishing return at some point, too."

Although many children in the South are still unvaccinated and vaccination rates nationwide are substantially lower than what state and federal officials target, there are no fresh plans or brave measures on the horizon, according to officials in 10 states, as per Politico. Instead, state and federal policies are essentially the same for managing 30,000 new daily cases of COVID-19 four months ago, despite having 130,000 new infections daily.

White House advisers claim that beyond urging additional vaccinations and boosters, there isn't much else they can or should be doing at this stage. Congress' continued hesitation to approve more budget has left the White House with insufficient COVID-19 funding, according to administration officials. Additionally, Biden's officials agree with state health experts that convincing people to regard every new variant as a national emergency is of limited effectiveness.

CDC Backs Novavax Vaccine

Meanwhile, COVID-19 vaccine Novavax, can now be used during an emergency, according to the CDC, per US News.

The decision by the agency's vaccine advisory council, which was overwhelmingly in favor of the "safe and effective" vaccine on Tuesday afternoon, was approved by CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

In a statement, Dr. Walensky said: "If you have been waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine built on a different technology than those previously available, now is the time to join the millions of Americans who have been vaccinated. With COVID-19 cases on the rise again across parts of the country, vaccination is critical to help protect against the complications of severe COVID-19 disease."

The CDC's permission comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization last Wednesday.