“grave concern.”
RELATED: What You Need to Know About the Omicron BA.2 Subvariant
Omicron subvariant
“This increase is not a surprise and is of grave concern given the loosening of restrictions for activities and masking in schools and communities,” Khan said in an email. “If you look at patterns in Europe, there has been an increase in the last few days as well. If we’ve learned anything in this pandemic, it is that the trends in Europe precede our own.”
The increase Khan is referring to is the surge in the subvariant, Omicron BA.2, which has spread rapidly throughout Europe. Despite cases steadily going down in the U.S., public health officials have been warning Americans about the subvariant.
“We are keeping a close eye on it. It’s very hard to predict what will happen, but recent wastewater sampling suggests this subvariant is accounting for about half the cases in our county so far, and we’re also doing whole genome sequencing as well to monitor the situation,” Dr.Tzvieli adds.
“Week-over-week, every week, its a higher percentage of the cases, and we are concerned that this may lead to an increase in cases, hospitalizations or even deaths in the coming weeks,” he adds.
Taking precautions
“The response shouldn’t be alarm, but should focus on the things that work: masking and vaccines/boosting,” Khan adds. “I am not giving up my mask anytime soon.”
Cynthia Gibas, who heads the wastewater surveillance program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, shares that sentiment.
“We shouldn’t be in panic mode about this, but we should watch it very carefully over the next few days,” Gibas told NBC News.
Testing, social distancing and getting vaccinated still remain the best precaution against COVID.
Currently, 81 percent of the U.S. population is vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the CDC.
“Even if suddenly more people start just feeling the need to get tested, that is an indication that maybe something’s happening,” Gibas says.
For more information about getting vaccinated, visit the CDC.