The new subvariant, with the usual Omicron mutations, is raising concerns about the potential for higher transmissibility and better ability to escape vaccines, but researchers can t definitively say yet whether it will be dominant in the US.
These variants now make up 52.3% of infections, with BA.5 accounting for 36.6% of new cases and BA.4 accounting for 15.7% of new cases, according to the latest CDC data.
The two newest subvariants of Omicron, BA.4 and BA.5, are spreading across the US and making up a higher percentage of new cases, prompting concerns about increased transmissibility.