Wang Wenling News Today

China has reported its first domestic cases of the Omicron subvariant known as BA.5－a highly-transmissible strain feared for its immunity-evading ability－renewing calls for accelerating COVID-19 vaccine booster campaigns.

Gene sequencing results showed a more-infectious Omicron BA.5.2 subvariant has become the dominant Covid strain in Xi’an, Northwest China Shaanxi Province.

Two Omicron subvariants — BA.4 and BA.5 — have become the dominant coronavirus strains in the US, causing 52 per cent of cases last week, according to new estimates from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The new and highly transmissible strains have also gained prevalence elsewhere, including in the United Kingdom and Portugal, and many countries are expecting...