The “stealth” variant of COVID-19 is now the dominant strain in the United States, accounting for 55 percent of cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. Despite the highly infectious nature of the variant, which is a lineage of the Omicron variant, case and death rates in America remain near pandemic lows.
The agency revealed data Tuesday as part of its weekly nowcast monitoring. The Omicron variant as a whole still remains the dominant strain in the US, but BA.2 has overtaken the BA.1 lineage, which caused massive viral outbreaks around the world around the New Year.
The “Stealth” variant, nicknamed for its ability to avoid detection by some sequencing methods, is believed to be the most contagious version of Covid yet – but is just as mild as BA.1.
BA.2’s share of Covid infections in America is growing, with the variant accounting for just 35 percent of cases in last week’s report. In the weeks before, it accounted for less than every fourth case.
FDA approves fourth injection of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for over-50s
The FDA has approved fourth doses of Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines for all Americans age 50 and older, the companies announced
Immunocompromised Americans ages 12 and older can also get the fourth shot under the new approval
The FDA has decided not to let an outside panel of experts debate the shot’s approval this time, and not all experts agree that a fourth dose is needed
Immunocompromised adults over the age of 12 can now receive an additional dose of Pfizer, and those aged 18 and over are eligible for the fourth Moderna vaccine. The second booster is to be distributed four months after the first.
Americans 12 and older with particularly weak immune systems due to a serious illness are now eligible for a fifth injection, four months after the previous one, the agency also ruled.
However, the rise of the variant has not caused the surge in US Covid cases that has been seen in many European countries.
Case numbers in the US have stabilized after rising sharply in early 2022 and then falling. America is currently recording an average of 31,222 cases per day, unchanged from last week. The current case numbers are at one of the lowest points since the pandemic began in March 2020.
The number of deaths is declining, down nearly 30 percent to 776 a day over the past week. Tuesday marks the first day that daily deaths have fallen below 800 a day since the Omicron variant landed in America in early December. This is also the lowest daily death toll since August.
Amid falling numbers, the US is taking two important steps this weekend that further signal the country’s attempt to recover from the pandemic.
On Tuesday, the latest military operations in hospitals across the country to help with a tide of Covid patients will end as declining cases, a high vaccination rate and the milder nature of the Omicron variant leave only a low risk of suffering for health facilities a further overwhelming number of patients.
In all, around 5,000 troops have been deployed to 49 states since the pandemic began, and no more will be deployed apart from one major postponement.
Reimbursement for uninsured COVID-19 patients receiving hospital treatment is also set to end because the White House has failed to secure funding for the initiative as many Republican federal lawmakers have overcome the pandemic.
While some are concerned about the latter and that it could affect America’s ability to test and treat Covid patients, both moves signal a major push at the federal level to return to “normal”.
Around 5,000 soldiers have been deployed to support ailing hospitals during the pandemic. This initiative ends on Tuesday – barring a further surge in the virus – when the last outreach comes to an end. Pictured: A soldier assists a Covid testing site in Brooklyn, New York
The last remaining federal regulations related to the pandemic could also be on the way out. Despite declining case numbers, the CDC still requires Americans to wear masks on public transportation like planes and trains.
dr Scott Gottlieb, former director of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and current Pfizer board member, said CNBC’s Squawk Box on Monday that he expects the agency to phase out mask mandates next month.
“Unless we’re in the middle of another wave of BA.2 infections in mid-April, I think they’re going to go ahead and pick this up,” Gottlieb said.
“I think the uncertainty in that is that we’re starting to see infections creeping in. If it sort of levels out over the next few weeks, which it could be, I think the government will go ahead and undo that.
Fears of the new variant, which led to a spike in cases across Europe earlier this month before quickly declining, have prompted health authorities to approve another shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.
On Tuesday, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that the fourth dose of their COVID-19 vaccine was approved by regulators for all Americans age 50 and older and for immunocompromised individuals age 12 and older. Moderna’s shot also received approval.
Not all experts believe that the shot is necessary.
dr Anna Durbin is an international public health expert at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and has criticized Pfizer, Moderna and the White House’s insistence on rolling out COVID-19 booster shots before they are needed. She told ABC last week that she doesn’t think many Americans would benefit from additional recordings.
“In my opinion, very few, if any, people require a fourth dose,” she said.
In August, when the White House unveiled plans to roll out the first COVID-19 booster shots, Durbin was also a critic, telling there was little scientific support for the decision.
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said last week that he expects the US to soon suffer a BA.2-driven surge and that his company’s vaccine is needed to control it.
“Already in several countries around the world some of the 4th dose testing is being done in people at high risk,” Bancel said CNBC’s Squawk Box.
“There is currently a large wave of the BA.2 variant in Europe, as many public health experts have said should start very soon in the US.”
However, a growing list of experts says just the opposite.
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we see some upward trend,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert and someone who has often been one of the more cautious voices during the pandemic, at a Washington Post event this week.
“I don’t really see that there would be a bigger increase unless something changes dramatically.”
While the stealth variant hasn’t had a major impact on the number of cases yet, data from overseas – referenced by Bancel – gives cause for concern.
In some countries that have seen a drop in cases for months, such as the UK, France and Denmark, infection rates suddenly started rising last week. Cases appear to have stabilized in these countries and growth has halted for now.
Internationally, the World Health Organization reports that there were over 12 million Covid cases worldwide last week, a seven percent increase from the previous week. An updated report from the agency is expected Tuesday afternoon.