The mainstream media is warning people the new "ninja" COVID-19 variant is the worst one yet. However, an infectious disease expert says not true..Mainstream media in the US reported health experts are pointing the finger at the BA.5 Omicron subvariant, which some call the "ninja variant.".WBTV spoke with Dr. Katie Passaretti with Atrium Health. He said the new variant is the "primary strain of COVID-19 in the Charlotte area. Those fully vaccinated can get it, as well as those who have had COVID-19 before.".“The reason we're not seeing as steep of an uptick in hospitalizations as we’ve seen in the past is because our vaccines are doing a better job at protecting us from severe disease,” Passaretti said..The doctor added vaccines are being developed to target Omicron variants, with hopes of releasing them in the fall..Fox News interviewed infectious disease expert Dr. Amesh Adalja on Monday to break down some misconceptions about these new variants.."What we know about this new variant, BA.5, is the immunity other variants have provided for people who have been naturally infected or who have been vaccinated isn't sufficient to prevent you from getting infected," Adalja said.."Coronavirus has evolved to be able to get around our immunity and infect us all the time. This virus comes from a family of viruses that cause 30% of our common colds, and we all get multiple coronavirus infections.".Adalja told Fox News "it's not the infection we should be worried about.""What you're protected against is severe disease. We've got to draw a distinction between getting infected and having severe disease and ending up in the hospital, which is unlikely in people who have high levels of immunity."Another misconception is that the BA.5 variant, or the "ninja variant," is the most dangerous one yet. Adalja told Fox News this is not true."It's definitely the most contagious, but I don't think we have any evidence that it's more severe," Adalja said."South Africa had a wave of BA.5, and it really stayed out of the hospital, so I don't think it's the most dangerous. It's the most transmissible, the most contagious, but not the most dangerous."
