New COVID variant on the move

COVID-19 is making a summer re-run nationally. 

The latest variant is nicknamed Eris, after the Greek goddess of strife and discord. It’s also referred to as EG.5, according to Dr. Steve Threlkeld, infectious disease specialist at Baptist Medical Systems in Mississippi. 

COVID-19 cases began rising nationally in July when summer travel ramped up and people were pushed indoors due to the heat, he said.

“For the past few weeks, we have seen an uptick in cases. Certainly a few, even serious cases in the ICU,” Threlkeld told WAPT. 

Local doctors are saying that Eris variant-positive patients in recent weeks aren’t as sick as they were during previous waves.

“Thankfully, our brick wall of immunity we have built over having it several times, plus the vaccine that we have had, made this a much less severe disease,” Threlkeld said.

But Mississippians should still take precautions, especially with students heading back to school.

School has been a "controversial topic throughout this pandemic,” he continued. “We need kids in school," the doctor says, but use common sense when there's a "larger surge" spreading through a given class. There might be times when masks would be appropriate in those situations.

Those most likely affected will be people with underlying conditions. The best protection is to wear a mask or get vaccinated.

Threlkeld says a new vaccination is expected to come out in the fall to best protect against the Omicron variant. Eris is a sub-variant of Omicron. (WAPT 08/11/23)