Will COVID treatments work against newest variants?

DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) - With the new Omicron subvariant BA.2 surfacing, scientists are keeping a close watch as to whether common treatments will work against the new strain.

Right now, experts believe treatments have proven to be more effective at keeping people from getting extremely sick and dying such as the Pfizer Covid pill and monoclonal antibodies.

Other antiviral health experts say we’re in a much better position now to fight COVID than we were two years ago.

With treatments preventing death, many are questioning if vaccines are still needed.

“No one can predict what their course of illness is going to be, especially if they are unvaccinated,” says Alabama infectious disease expert Dr. Michael Saag. “So catching COVID of any sort put somebody who is unvaccinated at very high risk especially compared to a vaccinated person at getting very sick and potentially dying.”

Saag says the problem is, once that cascade hits, once that person gets very sick you can’t stop it. At that point a vaccine is too late.

Everyone 5 years and older can now get a covid-19 vaccination.

Those ages 12 and older are eligible for a booster shot.

Subscribe to our News 4 newsletter and receive the latest local news and weather straight to your email every morning. Get instant notifications on top stories from News 4 by downloading our mobile apps.