Preparing for the BF-7 COVID-19 variant and flu season
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Move over, BA-4 and BA-5, there's a new COVID-19 variant that's spreading even as the push is on for the current round of boosters.
The word from the experts is to get the booster and don't let your guard down. KDKA's John Shumway spoke with CBS News medical expert Dr. David Agus -- and some of what he had to say is a bit disconcerting.
Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Omicron, BA-4, BA-5, and now comes BF-7.
"It's a child of BA-5, if you will, and it went from almost no cases several weeks ago to now," Dr. Agus said. It's about 2% to 3% of cases in the country and going upwards."
Dr. Agus says each variant brings new challenges and with BF-7, it has some changes that may make it somewhat evasive to immunity, which means that if you had prior Omicron, you may be susceptible to BF-7.
While it's understood that previous COVID cases may not be enough to protect you from the new variant, it's early and there are still a lot of unknows about BF-7.
"We see how people did, what certain people got infected, if the vaccines helped, if not, and so the data now makes us pay attention but certainly are not a major concern yet," Dr. Agus said.
When it comes to vaccines and their effectiveness against BF-7, Dr. Agus says that all evidence points to the fact that it should do the same for the new variant, especially if you have the BA-5 booster.
With two years of preconditioning, many assume when a bug hits their household, it's COVID -- but that's not always the case.
Mention that someone in your family is sick, and just about everyone can relate with their own story.
With the turn in the weather, it was inevitable. When the colder weather arrives, it's time to pull out the tissues.
"If you do get the sniffles or a sore throat, it doesn't necessarily mean it's COVID. It could be something else," Dr. Agus said.
Dr. Agus says that robust precautions surrounding COVID-19 have opened many up to problems now that those precautions are being relaxed.
"You know for a couple of years, we all stayed home, and when that happened, our immunity to other viruses went down," Dr. Agus said. "Our immunity to the flu as a country is dramatically lower than what it usually is. Because every year, many people were exposed to the flu and the flu shot and we really skipped it for a couple of years."
Dr. Agus says now, more than ever, it's important to get a flu shot as it's expected to be a bad flu season.
As far as protecting yourself against the latest cold bug going around, it's the standard stuff, from handwashing to steering clear of folks who are hacking and sneezing.
