Two new Omicron variants detected in the U.S., could spark another COVID wave. Research shows which people will fare best

BA.4, BA.5, 2 new Omicron variants detected in the U.S., could spark another COVID wave. Research shows these people will fare best The new spawns of Omicron sweeping South Africa have arrived in the U.S. Yahoo

Two new strains of COVID that appear to be more transmissible than even “stealth Omicron,” and that have the ability to evade antibodies from vaccination and prior infection, have arrived in the U.S.—and they could mean a new wave is coming.

BA.4 and BA.5—like the original Omicron, BA.1—originated in South Africa. Cases are surging there despite the fact that almost all South Africans have been vaccinated or had COVID, Bloomberg reported last week. The country's National Institute for Communicable Diseases reported nearly 4,000 new infections on Sunday alone. Of those who were tested for COVID, 22% received positive results. The World Health Organization initially recommended levels of below 5% for communities wishing to reopen after COVID's first wave.

People who have been both vaccinated against COVID and infected with Omicron may very well get sick if they contract the subvariants. But they probably won’t require hospitalization or die, a top COVID researcher from South Africa told Fortune.

“If you were vaccinated and had Omicron, your protection is decent, at least against severe disease,” said Alex Sigal, a professor at the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa. He’s one of the authors on a new study that found BA.4 and BA.5 could result in a new wave of infection due to their ability to evade antibodies, both from vaccination and earlier infection. ...

Others won’t be so fortunate. Sigal says those who have been infected with COVID prior to Omicron likely don’t have much immunity to BA.4 and BA.5. Those who were infected with Omicron but not vaccinated won’t have much immunity either. “It could go either way” for them, he said. ...

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