SHREVEPORT, La (KTAL/KMSS) — COVID-19 hospitalizations across Louisiana have increased amid summer heatwaves, the latest variant, and students returning to school.
Doctors say it could be due to the new omicron sub-variant called EG.5.
According to the CDC, new hospital admissions per 100,000 in the past week:
- Bienville Parish, 3.1% increase
- Caddo & Bossier, De Soto, Red River, Sabine, and Webster Parish seeing a 6.2% increase in cases.
How worried should we be with the latest wave?
“So far with EG.5, you know, we are seeing an increased prevalence with that variant, we’re also seeing increased, um.. there’s increased transmissibility of that variant, and there might be some immunoscape with it. But what we’re not seeing – we’re not seeing increased disease severity,” says Krista Queen, Ph.D., the Director of Viral Genomics and Surveillance for the Center for Emerging Threats at LSU Health Shreveport.
Dr. Queen says EG.5 correlates to previous years, as there was also a spike in COVID-19 cases this time last year.
She suggests those who are more vulnerable, like, those who are immune compromised or elderly, should take more precautions like distancing and wearing a mask if unwell.
Dr. Queen says the Viral Genomics and Surveillance for the Center for Emerging Threats are still investigating if there is a seasonality to the rise and fall of the coronavirus.
“We’re starting to see some trends with COVID, a lot of travel this summer, and now, like you mentioned, with back to school bringing together all these different children who have been all over the place, and so that can increase the cases that we are seeing.”
Queen suggests people get a booster shot to prevent them from getting COVID this fall.
“The new booster shot will be available in late September or October is actually designed against XBB [omicron] and is the parent strain of EG.5 – that’s circulating now.”
Denial of responsibility! My Droll is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
