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Health officials are preparing for a fresh wave of infections in the U.S. driven by the most contagious COVID-19 variant. Even people who have recently recovered from the virus are susceptible to becoming ill with the BA.5 omicron subvariant, officials said.

Independent scientists and physicians endorsed an updated omicron vaccine by a 19-2 vote. A new booster is expected to roll out by the fall of this year.

“For some of us, that’ll be our fifth shot. So the booster that is going to be made is new and it will contain the original, what we call the ancestral Coronavirus, but it’ll also contain BA.4- and BA.5-like sequences in them,” Jerome said. The idea is that if more variants come up, there is a good chance that they’ll rise from BA.4 or BA.5, that’s not a guarantee, but we’re hedging our bets that what new variants might come are most likely to be covered by one of those three variants, and you’ll be better protected if you get this new Omicron specific booster.”

Recent cases of monkeypox have also been identified in King County, suggesting that the virus was transmitted locally, according to Public Health – Seattle & King County.

“This is one thing we’ve all come to appreciate more from COVID. I think it’s becoming more obvious to everybody that you don’t necessarily detect every infection,” Jerome said. “The virus is there, there’ve been several hundred cases in the U.S., and the incidence seems to be growing. So it’s something that people should keep on their radar screens.”

Monkeypox is spread through close physical contact. As of July 6, Public Health officials have identified nine cases in King County.

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