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A subvariant of omicron that's even more contagious than the original is now the most common COVID-19 strain in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 that the BA.2 strain now accounts for more than half — 54.9 percent — of all coronavirus infections nationwide, according to new data.

It's even more prevalent in certain parts of the country. For example, over 70 percent of COVID-19 cases in the Northeast are BA.2, the CDC estimates.

The BA.2 variant does not appear to make people any sicker than the original omicron strain, and vaccines still offer protection against it.

But health experts had feared that the highly transmissible variant could trigger another surge in cases in the U.S. as it has 

 and the CDC recommended a second booster dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine for older people and certain immunocompromised people.

The authorization comes at an opportune time, some health experts said, since an uptick in people protected by vaccines and boosters could help limit the number of deaths and hospitalizations caused by BA.2.

At the same time, CDC estimates showed no known infections caused by the once-common delta variant between March 20-26. 

Health

COVID-19

Joe Hernandez

Author

The BA.2 strain now accounts for more than half of all coronavirus infections nationwide, the CDC estimates. Although it's fueling a surge in Europe, the variant doesn't appear to make people sicker.

The more contagious BA.2 version of omicron is now the most common in the U.S.

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