The ways we think about the COVID-19 pandemic have evolved with the virus: In 2020, it was a potentially deadly threat we could avoid by being careful; in 2021, it was something that was likely to infect everyone eventually; and now, it’s becoming seen as a persistent health hazard that can reinfect people multiple times, each time inflicting cumulative damage and increasing the odds of long-duration symptoms.
Now that most people have been infected, there’s really no other way a new variant can take over except by breaking through immunity from past infections and vaccinations. That’s one reason The Washington Post called BA.5, the currently circulating subvariant of the highly transmissible omicron, “the worst variant.”
Your definition of “the worst” may vary. It’s certainly the most infectious so far — but the widespread availability of vaccines will make it far less deadly than earlier versions. The concern about cumulative harm, especially to the heart and brain, is reason to avoid getting reinfected, but there are understandable limits to how far people can or will go to evade BA.5. The young and healthy may brush off repeat infections like common colds, while older, sicker or more-vulnerable people who’ve already battled with the virus have yet another thing to worry about.
