OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – As kids head again to highschool, well being officers on the College of Oklahoma need you to concentrate on the Ninja variant of COVID making the rounds on the subway. OU well being officers anticipate a surge of COVID with many college students again in lecture rooms.
The brand new omicron BA.5 COVID-19 subvariant, also called the COVID ninja variant, has shortly grow to be essentially the most distinguished pressure of the virus within the US, and it is proper right here in Oklahoma. As of earlier this week, the ninja variant accounts for almost 86 p.c of instances, in line with the CDC.
“It is actually one of the contagious proper now… Happily, it appears to trigger a barely completely different syndrome in individuals than earlier variants we have had. And so we’re hopeful that it is not as lethal, not as harmful if you’ll,” mentioned Douglas Drevets, chief of infectious ailments at OU Well being and area professor of drugs on the OU Faculty of Medication.
Dr. Douglas Dreverts mentioned that this variant pressure spreads a lot simpler and quicker.
BA.5 infections are related to many acquainted signs, together with a notably persistent cough, nasal congestion, and sore throat.
“It modifications the way in which it binds to and invades cells, so it tends to be way more within the higher respiratory tract and decrease respiratory tract … However as a result of it tends to be up right here, it additionally tends to not trigger pneumonia a lot a lot. So, in a way, persons are not that sick,” Deverts mentioned.
Deverts additionally mentioned that should you had COVID late final 12 months or early this 12 months, you might be greater than possible prone to the present variant.
“For those who had that, what we’re seeing now’s one thing that is fairly a couple of mutations away from that, half a 12 months later. Your particular immunity to that might have gone down a bit. However once more, the excellent news is that most individuals who get it, in the event that they find yourself within the hospital, they will not find yourself significantly ailing. That being mentioned, you understand, nationally, we nonetheless have about 400 individuals a day dying from COVID,” Deverts mentioned.
OU well being officers anticipate an omicron-specific booster to return out this fall, however in fact consultants urge you to get booster doses even earlier than then.
In case your youngster is sick, well being consultants advocate that they keep house and get examined for COVID.
