ATLANTA — Most metro Atlanta counties are now considered to have a high transmission rate for COVID-19 following a surge in new cases.
The latest variant, BA.5, is the most contagious and is spreading rapidly around the Peach State, according to doctors. BA.5 is so transmissible that people who've gotten COVID before are getting it again, meaning it is now evading natural antibodies built up from prior infections and current COVID-19 vaccinations.
They are cautioning anyone in high-risk communities to wear masks indoors and on public transportation. Keeping up to date on vaccines is still important with BA.5.
"Reinfection is absolutely possible with this BA.5 - what our vaccines are doing is continuing to keep us out of the hospital, but they are not being able to prevent reinfection from the BA.5," said Dr. Jayne Morgan, who is the executive director of the COVID-19 task force at Piedmont Health Care System.
Though hospitalizations are low, Morgan said, people infected multiple times by the virus could see long-term health issues. According to the CDC, over the last week, there were 26,603 new cases and 136 deaths due to the virus.
"Because of all of our behavior, we have continued to be very complacent and cavalier," Morgan said. "And BA.5 has come into existence because we have allowed it to come into existence."
She adds that the best protection is to get the COVID-19 booster shots. Those may also help stop the virus from mutating once again.
Also, due to the new variant, the FDA recommended that scientists tweak the formula used in COVID vaccines to better fight off BA.5 and others.
Pfizer and Modern were already making boosters to add new protections for the first omicron mutants. They could boost levels of antibodies capable of fighting that variant, more than simply offering another dose.
They both saw some cross-protection against BA.4 and BA.5 varients, but not nearly as much. The new company on the scene, Novavax, claimed that a booster of its regular vaccine would protect against new omicron mutants without a recipe change.
The FDA approved Novavax on Wednesday, and they are now waiting for CDC approval.