COVID BA.5 variant spreads rapidly despite previous immunity

As the summer COVID-19 spike continues in Colorado, you may wonder why so many people who got vaccinated and boosted are now getting sick. Dr. Reginald Washington the Chief Medical Officer at Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center and The Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children says it all comes down to how viruses behave and how much vaccine immunity you still have. 

"COVID continues to mutate. It continues to evolve," he said. "BA.5 has altered some of the receptors that the vaccines use to give us our immunity and therefore it's being spread more rapidly," he said. 

UCHealth's Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control Dr. Michelle Barron says your immunity depends on when last got a vaccine or an infection and what strain of COVID-19 it was. 

"How long ago was the infection and which strain? The antibody levels still probably persist for about 90 days, but if you got omicron back in March, you're out of that window," she said. 

Both doctors say COVID-19 is just going to be part of our lives from now on. 

"It's like the flu virus that comes around every year. If you had the flu last year or you had a flu vaccine last year that doesn't necessarily mean you're not going to get the flu this time around." 

Both also say that even though COVID-19 is here to stay, you can still protect yourself from death or serious illness by getting vaccinated and following the time-tested COVID rules. 

"Stay home when you are sick. Wear a mask if you are sick and avoid people. Cleaning is important," said Dr. Barron. 

Dr. Barron reminds people that there are other diseases going around so being up to date on all your vaccinations not just COVID-19 is important.