Nearly half of COVID cases in Israel are associated with the BA.5 strain

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Almost 50% of people infected with COVID-19 in Israel are infected with the BA.5 strain, which is a subvariant of Omicron.

About this was stated by Professor Salman Zarka at a meeting of the committee on health, according to The Jerusalem Post. The strain causes relatively mild illness in young adults, he says, but leads to an increase in hospitalizations.

“The BA.5 variant has taken the place of Omicron and will be the dominant variant. It is now important to support risk groups and populations aged 60 and over,” the professor said. > "We encourage the public to wear masks indoors. This is what I personally do and this is what I say to everyone around me, even outside of the hospital. We are considering bringing back rules requiring masks to be worn indoors,” Zarka said.

According to Zarka, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine used in Israel is less effective in preventing infection with the new strain, but still helps reduce the risk of serious diseases.

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