The BA.5 variant of omicron is estimated to make up 65% of COVID cases in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
BA.5 and BA.4, the latest fast-spreading variants, combine for 80% of variants circulating in the country, Reuters reported. BA.4 makes up 16%, BA.5 makes up the remainder. Concerns over the variants are growing because of their increased contagiousness and ability to evade protection from vaccines and prior infections though it doesn’t appear they cause more severe illness.
Symptoms of BA. 4 and BA.5
Health officials said the variants are presenting many of the same symptoms seen in previous COVID strains: sore throat, cough, fatigue, nasal congestion, runny nose, headache and muscle aches. The variants are causing more upper respiratory, cold and flu-like symptoms, including fever, night sweats and sore throat. Some patients, though not all, are experiencing a new loss of taste and smell.
Most common symptoms, according to the Zoe COVID Symptom Study, are runny nose, sore throat, headache, cough and fatigue.
Alabama counties at high risk
According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, 25 counties are considered at high risk for COVID transmission. High risk is categorized as having 200 or more new cases per 100,000 people in the past seven days along with higher figures for new hospital admissions and percent of occupied staffed inpatient beds.
25 Alabama counties currently in the high risk category are:
- Baldwin
- Barbour
- Bibb
- Butler
- Calhoun
- Chambers
- Cherokee
- Coffee
- Colbert
- Cullman
- Dale
- Escambia
- Geneva
- Henry
- Houston
- Jefferson
- Lauderdale
- Madison
- Mobile
- Monroe
- Morgan
- Randolph
- Shelby
- St. Clair
- Walker
You can see each county’s designation here.
Alabama has reported 1.378 million coronavirus cases ad 19,795 deaths since March 2022. The state’s current positive rate is 27.6% with 531 people hospitalized. Just under 52% of Alabamians are fully vaccinated.
