Scientists are reacting to the sudden increase in new COVID-19 variants as it demonstrates a remarkable capacity to evade the protection provided by vaccination.
The new omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, which appear to have milder symptoms than the alpha and delta, are still a source of concern for countries like the U-S, where infections are still rising.
The BA.5 now accounts for 65 per cent of cases in the United States, and the BA.4 accounts for another 16 per cent.
A medical school professor from the University of East Anglia Paul Hunter, claims that the BA.5 is also the dominant strain of coronavirus worldwide.
There has been a spike in COVID-19 cases globally in the past five weeks, even with reduced testing levels.
The World Health Organisation has advised that the omicron variant BA.5 is causing new waves of disease across Europe, saying repeated infections could potentially result in long COVID.
The United Nations agency reported that 53 countries in its European region recorded nearly 3 million new coronavirus infections last week, saying the virus is killing about 3,000 people every week.
The World Health Organisation has discovered another sub-variant of omicron called the BA2.75, which was spotted in India earlier this year.
