nt emerged. But Hartert said BA.5 is unlikely to eliminate allergy cross-protection.
“If something like allergic inflammation is protective, I think that would be true for all variants,” Hartert said. “The degree to which that might be protective could certainly differ.”
Avoiding infection is more difficult with BA.5
For many, the first explanation that comes to mind when thinking about avoiding Covid is their personal level of caution. tenOever believes that individual behavior, more than genetics or T cells, is the key factor. He and his family in New York are among those who have never had Covid, which he attributes to precautions like staying home and wearing masks.
“I don’t think for a second that we have anything special in our genetics that makes us resistant,” he said.
It is now common knowledge that Covid was easier to avoid before omicron, when a small percentage of infected people were responsible for the majority of the spread of the virus. A study 2020for example, found that 10-20% of those infected accounted for 80% of transmission.
But omicron and its subvariants made any social interaction more risky for everyone involved.
“It’s probably a much more even playing field with omicron variants than it ever was with previous variants,” tenOever said.
BA.5 in particular has increased the chances of people who have avoided Covid so far getting sick. President Joe Biden is a prime example: he tested positive for the first time this week.
But even so, Jha said Thursday, “I don’t believe all Americans will get infected.”