Local medical professional discusses COVID BA.5 variant

Dr. Jay Sizemore says latest variant is "the most infectious" he's seen

HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) — The BA.5 variant is now the most dominant strain of COVID-19 in the country.

Its transmission level is high in Hamilton County, according to the CDC.

Erlanger’s Dr. Jay Sizemore says there has been a “slight uptick” in hospitalizations over the past few weeks compared to April’s COVID numbers, although they aren’t as high as the delta or omicron variants initially were.

Nonetheless, he says the new B-A-5 variant is “highly transmissible” and should be taken seriously.

Sizemore says the local scientific and medical community is working on “modified strategies” to battle the virus’ latest variant.

For the safety of all residents, he does recommend wearing masks indoors once again, although he acknowledged it will be a “tough sell to the community.”

“If you’re a high-risk individual, if your immune system is compromised in any way [or] you have to be out socially or for other necessary purposes, I surely think it would be recommended to wear a mask,” Sizemore said.

Sizemore says residents are back to living in a “red zone,” meaning there are currently more than 25 new daily cases per 100,000 people in the population.

He also believes the number of cases may be greater than they appear statistically.

“We’re seeing increased numbers in the community and I think it’s important for the community to recognize because of the availability of home testing and the lack of testing that these numbers are in fact gross underestimations of the total number of members of our community that are impacted,” Sizemore said.

However, Sizemore says due to prior immunity from vaccinations and omicron infections, “the number of serious illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths” aren’t as “dramatic” as they were previously.

Regardless, he says that COVID-19 is “certainly not over.”

“There’s still the possibility of people getting sick and dying, especially if they’re unvaccinated, if they have other underlying medical conditions — especially if they’re immunocompromised,” Sizemore said.

Sizemore says the BA.5 variant, so far, has been “the most infectious” he’s seen and that an “overwhelming majority of individuals” are experiencing mild and/or asymptomatic infections.

Some good news, though — Sizemore believes, in time, that we could soon see COVID phased down from pandemic to endemic.