But a new analysis by ABC News shows that more and more Americans are getting the virus again.
It’s hard to say how many. The ABC News analysis found at least 1.6 million reinfections in 24 states, but the actual number is probably a lot higher.
“These are not the real numbers because many people are not reporting cases,” Ali Mokdad, MD, an epidemiologist with the University of Washington, told ABC.
The latest variant, BA.5, has become the dominant strain in the U.S., making up more than 65% of all COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday, according to data from the CDC.
Prior infections and vaccines aren’t providing as much protection against the newly dominant BA.5 strain as they did against earlier variants.
But evidence doesn’t show this subvariant of Omicron to be more harmful than earlier, less transmissible versions.
The emergence of the Omicron variant, of which BA.5 is a subvariant, is indicating that less protection is being offered by prior infections.