ST. LOUIS — The latest COVID strain appears to be more infectious than any other strain seen of the virus. It has doctors reminding St. Louisans to stay vigilant.
First it was just the Coronavirus. Then came the delta variant and omicron after that. Now there's the BA.5 sub-variant. This strain is unlike any doctors have seen during the pandemic.
It's the latest variant of COVID-19 that's surging throughout the nation. Over the past few weeks, some 100,000 cases of the new BA.5 COVID strain have been reported. The St. Louis area is seeing it too.
"We are seeing a little rise now,” said Dr. Farrah Greye of 24/7 Urgent Care in St. Louis.
She wants you to stay on your guard.
"When viruses start changing or mutating we call it, they become a little bit stronger, better at trying to get into our system and into our bodies,” she said.
Experts say it's as contagious as measles and doctors believe it may be more infectious than any other variant of COVID thus far. It's also harder to detect than other strains.
"It may feel like we’re chasing COVID, but really we’re a step ahead of it. We've got medicines now. We’re better prepared. We know how to wear our masks and wash our hands,” Greye added.
St. Louis is at a high community level when it comes to the spread of COVID. The health department believes 70% of new cases are because of BA.5.
It's why Dr. Greye says if you haven't been vaccinated, it's time to re-consider that nd if you have, talk with your doctor to see if it's time for a booster, even if you've already had a booster.
"Wear the proper mask, a surgical mask or an N95 mask is very important…and please wear them over your nose because it loves to enter our bodies through our nostrils…Keeping your distance is another good idea in close quarters, try to get some fresh air, exercise is always good for our bodies,” she said.
To help stop the spread of BA.5, doctors are saying to keep getting tested. Some are even suggesting if you get a negative result back, get tested again to make sure.