WHO names newly dominant EG.5 strain as COVID 'variant of interest'
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The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday classified the newly dominant EG.5 strain of Omicron as a COVID variant of interest despite its low risk to public health.
The WHO notes that EG.5 has similar characteristics to Omicron XBB.1.5 and that the strain is spreading fast, leading to an increasingly high number of cases.
However, its risk to public health is low and in line with those of other currently circulating COVID strains, the global body said, adding that there are no reports to indicate EG.5 is associated with changes in disease severity.
In the U.S., where EG.5 has become the dominant COVID strain, accounting for an estimated ~17% of cases, COVID hospitalizations have reached more than 9,000 for the week ending July 29, indicating a ~13% rise.
In June, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX), and Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) have already sought FDA authorizations for their monovalent COVID vaccines updated for XBB.1.5 in time for an immunization drive in the fall.
Their rival, Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX), which offers a protein-based COVID shot, has also initiated regulatory filings to launch an XBB-adjusted shot for the booster campaign.

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