BA.5 nearing dominant COVID-19 strain in Washington

A report from the Washington State Department of Health shows the BA.5 COVID-19 strain -- a subvariant of what’s commonly known as omicron -- is making considerable headway in becoming the dominant strain in the state.

At the beginning of June, BA.5 was idling behind at 4.3% of tested samples in the state, with BA.2 holding a significant lead at 60.1%.

In just four weeks, BA.5 has jumped to 34.7% of cases, just shy of the current leader, BA.2.12.1 at 38.8%.

Theses COVID-19 variants are a viral lineage that share common genetic characteristics.

According to KIRO Newsradio, the West Coast is a little behind the curve, but BA.5 is becoming more and more prevalent by the day. Dr. Keith Jerome, the Director of the University of Washington Virology Lab, said he thinks BA.5 is going to win out over the next couple months.

Nationwide, BA.5 leads the variants at 53.6%, according to the CDC.

A new sublineage of the omicron variant, that some are calling “centaurus,” has been seen in two cases in the United States and is being monitored by the World Health Organization.

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