As the virus reappears in the United States, the White House has requested masks and booster shots.

In the United States, the transmission of novel coronavirus variant strains of omicronxin subtypes BA.5 and BA.4 has recently accelerated. The number of new coronavirus hospitalizations in the United States has doubled every week since the beginning of May, U.S. health officials reported on Tuesday.
The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rochelle Wollensky, stated last week that ba.4 and BA.5 accounted for 16 percent and 65 percent, respectively, of new cases.
According to the CDC, the new subtypes of the two mutated strains, BA.4 and BA.5, accounted for more than fifty percent of cases in the week ending June 25, an increase from one percent in early May.
Since early May, the average number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States has doubled, according to Dr. Wollensky.
According to data, there were over 16,000 hospitalized patients in the United States as of Monday, with an average daily increase of over 5,000 over the previous week. In the seven days to May 1, the nation had an average daily increase of more than 2,000 hospitalizations.
As of October 10, the seven-day average of newly confirmed cases in the United States was nearly 104,000, almost double the number in early May.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the numbers are incomplete because many people are being tested at home, and that the actual number of confirmed cases in the U.S. could be 300,000 to 500,000.
“If the virus spreads globally and in the United States, mutated strains will continue to emerge. We shouldn’t let it disrupt our lives, but we can’t deny that it’s a reality that needs to be addressed.” Fauci said, urging people to keep getting booster shots. “Immunity weakens, so it’s critical to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”
Experts believe that ba.4 and BA.5 are more capable of “escaping” vaccine protection or immunity from infection, but booster shots could still significantly reduce severe COVID-19 cases and death rates.
Officials at the White House believe the spread of BA.5 could increase the number of new cases in the United States in the coming weeks. Monday, Ashish Jha, coordinator of the COVID-19 response Task force at the White House, urged people over 50 to receive booster shots.
According to the CDC, tens of millions of eligible Americans have not yet received booster shots.
Currently, a large number of Americans are undervaccinated. About a third of Americans, according to the CDC, reside in high-risk areas for COVID-19, and the CDC recommends that these individuals wear masks indoors in public spaces, Wollensky said.