Two Omicron subvariants, BA4 and BA5, appear to escape antibody responses among both people who had previous Covid-19 infection and those who have been fully vaccinated and boosted, according to new data from researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, of Harvard Medical School.

Local public health experts are warning North Texas’ respite from rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations may be coming to an end, but are cautiously optimistic the area will see a summertime ‘bump’ in cases rather than a wave.

As the U.S. approaches the “tragic milestone” of 1 million deaths from COVID-19, President Joe Biden last week called for a renewed international commitment to combating the virus.

A COVID-19 subvariant similar to the BA.2, which now makes up 80% of samples at UT Southwestern Medical Center, is spreading quickly in North Texas. Scientists say it’s too soon to know if it will behave in the same way as its predecessor.

Within days of a federal district judge’s ruling that ended the country’s federal mask mandate on public transit (like planes and trains), Dallas County lowered its COVID-19 risk level to green or the “new normal.”