Covid cases are rising in King, Pierce, Snohomish, Skagit, and Thurston counties, as the highly contagious BA.5 variant surges through the community.
“There’s so much virus circulating right now, it’s imperative that we do everything we can to protect ourselves,” said Dr. John Swartzberg, an expert on infectious diseases at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. “And the two things that work the best – in combination – are being up to date with your vaccines and wearing a mask indoors when you’re dealing with the public.”
A lot of people think that if they’ve had Covid before, they’re protected against the BA.5 variant.
“Unfortunately, that’s just not true,” Dr. Swartzberg said. “We see lots of people who had Covid in December and January getting repeat infections now with BA.5. They just don’t get enough immunity to protect them against getting reinfected.”
The bottom line: You may be done with Covid, but this virus isn’t done with us. And the more you get infected, the higher your risk for complications or long covid.
More Info:
CDC Covid Data Tracker
What the BA.5 Subvariant Could Mean for the United States