Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 Symptoms: What To Know
These Omicron subvariants were responsible for the majority of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. in 2022
By Julia Landwehr
Updated on October 19, 2022
Medically reviewed by Kashif J. Piracha, MD
Kashif J. Piracha
Fact-checked on July 14, 2022, by Marley Hall, a writer and fact checker specializing in medical and health information.
The Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 strains of COVID-19 became the most common forms of the COVID-19 virus in the U.S. in 2022. While health officials didn't know as of September 2022 how they might affect the population, the good news is that symptoms don't seem to be that much different or worse than with Omicron or other types of COVID-19.
They do spread more quickly, however. Read on to learn what you need to know about the subvariants and how to stay healthy.
How Are the BA.4 and BA.5 Variants Different?
Every new COVID-19 variant raises questions about how the symptoms from a new type might affect our health, and the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants are no different.
The quick spread of BA.4 and BA.5 sets them apart from other Omicron strains. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky called them "more transmissible and more immune evading" than other Omicron variants in a 2022 White House press briefing.
In a September 2022 news release, the CDC also recommended updated booster shots that contain proteins targeting the variants for people ages 12 and older.
These two new subtypes made up the majority of COVID cases in 2022, according to the CDC data tracker page. BA.5 alone was responsible for 81% of cases in October 2022.
Here's what we know about what a BA.4 or BA.5 infection can look like and whether symptoms are any more severe than other COVID-19 strains.
Omicron BA.5 May Increase the Risk of Outdoor Transmission—Here's How to Stay Safe
What Are Symptoms of BA.4 and BA.5 Variants?
Like the other Omicron strains that have been dominant in the U.S. since December 2021, experts say BA.4 and BA.5 mainly cause cold-like symptoms and respiratory or breathing issues. The CDC reports that people's most common complaints when infected with Omicron include cough, runny nose, congestion, and fatigue.
"COVID tends to present similarly, and [it] may vary from person to person, but the most common stuff we're seeing are fevers, congestion, [and] sore throat," Katie Passaretti, MD, vice president and enterprise chief epidemiologist with Atrium Health, told Health. "Often the sore throat is the kind of [first] symptom, and then the rest kind of come on."
Once a classic sign of COVID-19 infection, loss of sense of smell or taste seems to be less common among patients getting sick with BA.4 and BA.5, Dr. Passaretti noted. But Passaretti has heard that people with BA.5 or Omicron may experience worse fevers and sore throats.
Other symptoms may show up with the newer strains, George Rutherford, MD, a professor of epidemiology at the University of California, San Francisco, told Health. Diarrhea, a common symptom for earlier variants, may turn up. So can other COVID-19 complaints like headache and muscle pain.
As of September 2022, BA.4 and BA.5 had been infecting large numbers of people for only a few months, making it difficult to confirm these slight differences in symptoms beyond what doctors were seeing.
It's also important to remember that COVID-19 affects everyone differently.
"[There are] adults who have had fevers of almost 40 degrees Centigrade [104 degrees Fahrenheit]," Dr. Rutherford told Health. "People said, 'It's the worst sore throat I've ever had.' Others say it's trivial."
Until more people have been sick with BA.4 and BA.5 longer, it will be hard to pinpoint the specifics of these symptoms, Dr. Rutherford said. But for the most part, most symptoms Rutherford was aware of were respiratory.
Less severe symptoms may also be causing the new strains to spread faster. The body's milder response to a BA.4 or BA.5 infection means people may not realize they have it and can spread it. Dr. Rutherford estimated that the number of cases might be more than twice that reported.
"[It's] harder to detect because people are like, 'I just have allergies. I'm going to work,'" Dr. Passaretti said. "And then you get other people infected."
https://www.health.com/news/symptoms-ba4-ba5?...g=52665041
These Omicron subvariants were responsible for the majority of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. in 2022
By Julia Landwehr
Updated on October 19, 2022
Medically reviewed by Kashif J. Piracha, MD
Kashif J. Piracha
Fact-checked on July 14, 2022, by Marley Hall, a writer and fact checker specializing in medical and health information.
The Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 strains of COVID-19 became the most common forms of the COVID-19 virus in the U.S. in 2022. While health officials didn't know as of September 2022 how they might affect the population, the good news is that symptoms don't seem to be that much different or worse than with Omicron or other types of COVID-19.
They do spread more quickly, however. Read on to learn what you need to know about the subvariants and how to stay healthy.
How Are the BA.4 and BA.5 Variants Different?
Every new COVID-19 variant raises questions about how the symptoms from a new type might affect our health, and the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants are no different.
The quick spread of BA.4 and BA.5 sets them apart from other Omicron strains. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky called them "more transmissible and more immune evading" than other Omicron variants in a 2022 White House press briefing.
In a September 2022 news release, the CDC also recommended updated booster shots that contain proteins targeting the variants for people ages 12 and older.
These two new subtypes made up the majority of COVID cases in 2022, according to the CDC data tracker page. BA.5 alone was responsible for 81% of cases in October 2022.
Here's what we know about what a BA.4 or BA.5 infection can look like and whether symptoms are any more severe than other COVID-19 strains.
Omicron BA.5 May Increase the Risk of Outdoor Transmission—Here's How to Stay Safe
What Are Symptoms of BA.4 and BA.5 Variants?
Like the other Omicron strains that have been dominant in the U.S. since December 2021, experts say BA.4 and BA.5 mainly cause cold-like symptoms and respiratory or breathing issues. The CDC reports that people's most common complaints when infected with Omicron include cough, runny nose, congestion, and fatigue.
"COVID tends to present similarly, and [it] may vary from person to person, but the most common stuff we're seeing are fevers, congestion, [and] sore throat," Katie Passaretti, MD, vice president and enterprise chief epidemiologist with Atrium Health, told Health. "Often the sore throat is the kind of [first] symptom, and then the rest kind of come on."
Once a classic sign of COVID-19 infection, loss of sense of smell or taste seems to be less common among patients getting sick with BA.4 and BA.5, Dr. Passaretti noted. But Passaretti has heard that people with BA.5 or Omicron may experience worse fevers and sore throats.
Other symptoms may show up with the newer strains, George Rutherford, MD, a professor of epidemiology at the University of California, San Francisco, told Health. Diarrhea, a common symptom for earlier variants, may turn up. So can other COVID-19 complaints like headache and muscle pain.
As of September 2022, BA.4 and BA.5 had been infecting large numbers of people for only a few months, making it difficult to confirm these slight differences in symptoms beyond what doctors were seeing.
It's also important to remember that COVID-19 affects everyone differently.
"[There are] adults who have had fevers of almost 40 degrees Centigrade [104 degrees Fahrenheit]," Dr. Rutherford told Health. "People said, 'It's the worst sore throat I've ever had.' Others say it's trivial."
Until more people have been sick with BA.4 and BA.5 longer, it will be hard to pinpoint the specifics of these symptoms, Dr. Rutherford said. But for the most part, most symptoms Rutherford was aware of were respiratory.
Less severe symptoms may also be causing the new strains to spread faster. The body's milder response to a BA.4 or BA.5 infection means people may not realize they have it and can spread it. Dr. Rutherford estimated that the number of cases might be more than twice that reported.
"[It's] harder to detect because people are like, 'I just have allergies. I'm going to work,'" Dr. Passaretti said. "And then you get other people infected."
https://www.health.com/news/symptoms-ba4-ba5?...g=52665041
