As New Variant Surges, Officials Warn More Will Follow Without Global Vax Effort

A new omicron subvariant is now the most dominant strain of COVID-19 in the U.S. It's called BA.5 — and it appears to evade neutralizing antibodies, making it easier for fully-vaccinated people to become infected or those who recently had COVID to get re-infected. Dr. Ayoade Alakija, co-chair of the African Union's Africa Vaccine Delivery Alliance, warns that more variants will follow unless global vaccine efforts get more aggressive. Atul Gawande, head of global health for the U.S. Agency for International Development, says Congress needs to authorize a new round of spending to help get vaccines to countries where many people still have not been vaccinated. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy