Omicron Subvariant Not Driving An Increase In COVID Cases For WA

OLYMPIA, WA — State health leaders are holding out hope that the last wave of COVID-19 infections will be the final major wave Washington has to weather.

The omicron surge is largely dying out in America, but the recent resurgence of omicron subvariant BA.2 has some concerned that another wave is on the horizon. BA.2 first made headway in Europe, and is currently responsible for about a quarter of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S., CBS reported.

However, it's not driving a major uptick in new infections, and remains fairly rare here in Washington.

"Our numbers of the subvariant of Omicron remain lower than 7 percent," said State Epidemiologist Dr. Scott Lindquist at a Department of Health briefing Wednesday." It is not the dominant strain, and it’s not driving an increase in cases."

The recent surge in Europe left some skeptics concerned that Washington's choice to lift the mask mandate and other COVID-19 restrictions were premature, but thus far the bulk of BA.2 infections have been in the East Coast. Lindquist says for Washington, right now all signs are good.

"Put this in context of what we’re seeing internationally, especially in Europe’s surge, we are not seeing that in Washington State," Lindquist said. "When we look at hospitalizations, it usually follows our case counts and we’re seeing that now, hospitalization rates are way down from our peak and this is all very positive."

That said, Department of Health leaders admit that their work is not done. Tomorrow, the agency is set to release their "WA Forward" plan detailing the state's COVID-19 response as the pandemic is downgraded to an endemic. The specifics of the plan remain under wraps, but the DOH has said it will include continued investments in data monitoring, vaccine availability, testing and providing needed PPE to health care workers.

“DOH will provide the latest health information, guidance, and resources to individuals, schools, childcare and early learning centers, businesses, and communities so that they can protect health among their household school or workplace and community,” said Assistant Health Secretary Lacy Fehrenbach.

As of the latest update to the state's COVID-19 data dashboard, 81 percent of Washingtonians five and older have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 73.4 percent are fully vaccinated. Over the past two weeks, the state has averaged 69 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents.