Most COVID cases in Florida, Southeast are now BA.5 'ninja' variant, CDC says

Welcome to today's edition of the Florida Coronavirus Watch Newsletter. As of next week, the Coronavirus Newsletter will be moving to once a week on Mondays, with alerts sent out for breaking COVID-19 news.

As of last week, nearly two out of every three cases of COVID-19 in the Southeast, including Florida, are the BA.5 omicron variant according to the CDC. While the omicron variants have so far not caused as many serious infections, hospitalizations and death, the BA.5 variant is the most contagious yet and seems to be able to evade some immunity from vaccines and previous infections. Here's what you need to know about BA.5.

"If you have not gotten a vaccine shot this year, please go get another vaccine shot." Earlier this week the Biden administration urged people to stay current on their shots and boosters because of the dangers of the new, highly-transmissible variants.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the U.S. has seen a doubling in the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 since April, reflecting the spread of the new subvariants, though deaths remain steady around 300 per day. There were 498 COVID-related deaths reported last week in Florida alone, according to Johns Hopkins data.

ALSO THIS WEEK: COVID relief fraud in Southwest Florida, experts call the omicron warnings too little, too late, and the FDA has approved another COVID vaccine.

FROM A READER: "How is the country keeping track of positive tests when so many people are testing themselves at home?" Mostly, they're not. Positive tests administered by a health professional are reported but there is no requirement to report the one you took at your kitchen table and Florida, unlike some other states, hasn't provided a way to report them anyway. More people are getting tested at home now than in labs, according to the National Institutes of Health. And some people never get tested, especially if they have no major symptoms.

This makes tracking trends really difficult and is probably at least part of why the CDC moved from relying on positive case numbers in February to also tracking hospitalizations, beds occupied by COVID patients and hospital capacity.

Anything you'd like to know? Send us your questions.

COVID INFO: See our COVID-19 resource guide here. Compare the spread of COVID-19 in your area here. Here's how to tell if you have the flu, a cold, or COVID-19, and all about the tests. Here's what to do if you test positive for COVID, and what we know about long COVID.

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— C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY - Florida Network DOT Producer

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Most COVID cases in Florida, SE U.S. are BA.5 'ninja' variant, CDC says