Colorado doctors share update on new strain of COVID that can evade existing antibodies

The newest BA.5 variant of COVID is spreading nationwide, sneaking past natural immunity and vaccinations. And as much as we'd love to be past all-things COVID, it is here to stay and it's being called the 'Houdini' of COVID by some.    

While people are getting sick in Colorado, Chief Medical Officer at National Jewish Health Dr. Carrie Horn tells CBS4's Mekialaya White we're not seeing a huge rise in hospitalizations or deaths. 

"Life is moving on, and I think it's great and people are out doing things again. Thankfully, COVID case numbers aren't the numbers we saw this winter. It's close to where we were in spring and summer of last year," said Horn. 

Symptoms of the new BA.5 variant can be difficult to distinguish from other respiratory viruses or even common allergies. 

"Mostly it's mild symptoms, runny nose, cough, sore throat, a little bit of fever but not as bad as it's been before. Fever is a big one, so if you have a fever, you know that's not allergies. And that you should stay home," said Horn. 

Horn also says BA.5 is infecting those who've been vaccinated. 

"Vaccine is made against the spike protein. And the spike protein is where, most of these mutations, where we're seeing them. So the antibodies that we made from the vaccine don't bind to the spike protein as well as they used to. They're just not having that antibody out there in front to stop the infection. The good news is, once the virus gets in, the antibodies are able to protect against severe illness," said Horn.

As new variants keep emerging, it has many asking why. Horn says, naturally, viruses keep making copies of themselves over and over. 

"Sometimes, they make a mistake and those result in nothing and it dies off, and sometimes they become more infections or virulent or severe. So what we've seen is the variants continue to be more infections. So as long as we keep seeing high rates of infections, we will see new variants," said Horn.   

"It's okay. Don't feel bad if you get infected, don't feel guilty, It is going to happen and it's going around. The real thing is to watch out for other people," said Horn.   

She says the best way to protect others who are high risk is to get vaccinated or boosted if you haven't already. And the best way to know if you have COVID or not is by taking a rapid test.