COVID-19 Warning: Top Health Officials Raises Alarm on Omicron BA.5 [Symptoms, Resistance, and Treatment]

Top U.S. health officials on Tuesday raised a warning on COVID-19 Omicron subvariant BA.5, which may prompt another surge of COVID cases.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Omicron BA.5 now accounts for 65% of current COVID-19 cases across the United States, per Yahoo! News.

NBC News noted that hospitals across the country are now bracing for another surge in cases driven by the said Omicron subvariant.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky noted in a press briefing on Tuesday that COVID hospitalizations have doubled since May, attributing it to the COVID-19 BA.5 subvariant.

However, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, Dr. Ashish Jha, assured in a virtual press briefing that the federal government "knows how to manage" the increase in COVID cases.

"We can prevent serious illness. We can save lives and we can minimize disruptions caused by COVID-19," Jha underscored.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden's chief medical advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned that the threat of BA.5 subvariant looms for people who are not "vaccinated to the fullest."

Although Fauci stressed that though the COVID-19 BA.5 "substantially evades neutralizing antibodies," vaccines are still effective in preventing severe COVID-19 outcomes.

"We do know [BA.5] to be more transmissible and more immune-evading... People with prior infection, even with BA.1 or BA.2, are likely still at risk for BA.4 and BA.5," Walensky said in Tuesday's briefing.

COVID-19 BA.5: Symptoms of the Omicron Subvariant

Health experts have released symptoms attributed to the Omicron BA.5 subvariant.

According to the University of California Davis Health, the reported symptoms of BA.5 are similar to the previous COVID-19 variants. These are fever, runny nose, sore throat, headaches, muscle pain, and fatigue.

Meanwhile, in the U.K., BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants have reported symptoms, including persistent cough. BA.4 and BA.5 are the subvariants that account for the majority of the U.K.'s COVID cases.

Treatment for COVID-19 Omicron BA.5

Health experts, like Fauci, reiterated that even though the BA.5 evades the antibodies, the vaccines are still enough protection and help avoid severe COVID effects from taking place.

Although the BA.5 can elude from the antibodies produced triggered by the vaccines or treatments, there are still other ways to prevent having the said Omicron subvariant.

According to Dr. Nathan Grubaugh from Yale School of Public Health, the best way to encounter new variants of COVID-19 is to get vaccinated and get booster shots. Grubaugh noted that the virus will not have more chances to spread and mutate when more people are vaccinated.

Another way to protect oneself from the BA.5 variant is mask-wearing.

On Friday, New York City public health officials recommended wearing masks indoors. Furthermore, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recommended wearing high-quality masks, including N95, KN95, or KF94.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Omicron Subvariant BA.5 Highly Transmissible in U.S. l GMA - From ABC News