Health
New COVID variants, hospitalizations on rise in Northeast
ALBANY — Two new COVID-19 variants, EG.5 and FL.1.5.1, are making the rounds this week as hospitalization rates continue to rise.
EG.5, nicknamed “Eris,” is now a dominant variant in the United States, making up about 17 percent of cases nationwide, while FL.1.5.1 is mostly surging in the Northeast, according to viral sequencing data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The World Health Organization on Wednesday classified Eris as a “variant of interest” but so far, there is no indication that it poses more of a threat to public health than other variants. Eris has also spawned its own subvariant known as EG.5.1.
For most of the summer, descendants of the XBB variant, which was circulating at the beginning of the year, have made up most COVID-19 infections in the U.S. Eris and FL.1.5.1 are among these.
Hospitalization rates tied to COVID-19 have risen sharply across New York state recently, though intensive care unit cases and fatalities have stayed consistently low. In the Capital Region, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 jumped from 26 to 51 in the last week.
State health officials say there is no indication the new variants, which are derived from omicron, are causing the uptick in hospitalizations.
Hospitalization rates are believed to be driven by a combination of factors, including the usual travel and socializing people do during summer months and waning immunity, according to Dr. Kirsten St. George, director of virology and chief of the Laboratory of Viral Diseases at the Wadsworth Center in Albany.
“There are mutations in some of the old strains that we’ve seen that have been suggested to be associated with increased severity and none of them are present in these strains,” St. George said. “There are mutations in them that contribute to the evasion of immunity — and that’s immunity generated from either previous vaccination or past infection… So that is also part of the reason why they’re spreading so readily.”
Since most cases are not reported or go undetected, hospitalizations and fatalities are more useful indicators than test results to measure the severity of a COVID-19 wave, according to health officials.
The state’s wastewater surveillance system, another important tool, has detected surging COVID-19 concentration levels in many wastewater treatment plants statewide. Of about 186 active wastewater collection sites, 26 were categorized as having the highest COVID-19 detection levels.
The state’s wastewater surveillance program calculates COVID-19 detection levels in six increments based on virus concentration in sewage samples and case counts in the corresponding community.
Many sewersheds with the highest detection levels were located in New York City and western New York.
In the Capital Region, Lake George had the highest detection level of 75-100 percent. Samples from wastewater treatment plants in Bethlehem, Albany and Guilderland fell into the second-highest category, with COVID-19 detection levels at 50-75 percent.
Still unknown is the extent to which the upcoming Pfizer and Moderna booster shots designed to target XBB will defend against the new variants. But in recent lab studies, antibodies from people recently infected with XBB were highly effective at neutralizing Eris lineages, according to St. George.
“Of course, until we have actual empirical data from vaccinated individuals, we will not have an accurate measure of the efficacy of the vaccine,” St. George said. “But this is very comforting evidence.”
Eris and FL.1.5.1 are both descendants of omicron. Compared to XBB, Eris has one variation on its spike protein — a protrusion that binds the virus to the cell — and FL.1.5.1 has two variations, according to St. George.
To protect against COVID-19, New Yorkers are advised to take precautions and be mindful of the virus’ presence when socializing. One of the best ways to protect against severe disease is by getting the vaccine, health experts said.
Symptoms of the disease include fever and chills, cough, loss of taste or smell and fatigue.
At-home tests are available at pharmacies and COVID-19 medications are widely available with a prescription. It’s important to begin treatment as soon as possible after the onset of symptoms to ensure the utmost effectiveness, health officials said.
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