Listen to JazzPHX
News of the day, behind the scenes and more!
A new COVID variant is now the dominant strain. But that doesn't mean another surge for Arizona
Download mp3 (11.33 MB)
TGen
Dr. David Engelthaler is the director of infectious-disease research at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).
The Food and Drug Administration authorized second Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 booster shots March 29 for everyone 50 and older; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to issue further guidance on boosters soon, as well. The move is seen as an attempt to protect older Americans whose immunity may be waning, in case there’s another surge.
Globally, the World Health Organization says the omicron subvariant BA.2 now accounts for the majority of all sequenced cases of COVID. But in Arizona and across much of the country, the number of COVID infections has been dropping. And many of the restrictions that had been put in place over the course of the last couple of years have been lifted.
So where are we exactly in this pandemic? To get some answers, The Show spoke with Dr. Dave Engelthaler, director of the Pathogen & Microbiome Division at the Translational Genomics Research Institute.
