Even as many parts of the world relax COVID-19 restrictions and resume life as it was before the pandemic, some ountries are reporting a fresh surge in COVID-19 cases thanks to Omicron's sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5.
Countries in Europe including France, Portugal, and Germany, among others have been seeing a significant rise in cases. According to experts, this rise may be tied to the new sub-lineages of BA.2 Omicron - BA.4 and BA.5.
The two Omicron subvariants are also close to becoming the dominant variant in the US as well. BA.4 and BA.5 accounted for nearly 35 percent of the positive cases reported last week in the country, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
To top it off, recent studies have also found that prior vaccination and/or infection with Omicron does not provide immunity from Omicron BA.4 and BA.5.