The COVID-19 pandemic has seen the rise and fall of many variants, but nothing like BA.5.
Previous subvariants of omicron have caused cascading surges as they outcompeted each other; now, BA. 5 is the latest mutation to take hold around the world. Its success in spreading is due in part to its unique mutations that make it capable of evading immunity from previous infections and vaccines. It is also the most transmissible variant, even more so than its predecessors BA.1 and BA.2 that fueled surges over the summer — and which were already the most contagious viruses ever known.
