COVID Strain ‘Eris’ Is Now the Dominant in The U.S.

Posted August 9, 2023

A recent strain of the coronavirus, EG.5, has made its way to the top of the list regarding COVID-19 variants responsible for cases in the U.S.

EG.5, nicknamed ‘Eris’, makes up approximately 17.3 percent of all Covid cases in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The second most prevalent strain XBB.1.16 accounting for 15.6 percent of cases.

While the new variant—stemming from the Omicron family— is now causing more cases than any other variant in the country, Eris seems to hold no significant difference when compared to other variants of the disease.

Symptoms include a cold, sore throat, runny nose, congestion, cough and fever.

Coronavirus hospitalizations have been in flux, however, recent hospitalizations are experiencing a rise for the summer.

Important to note that since the end of the national public health emergency for COVID-19 earlier this year, the CDC currently only has genomic data from three of the 10 U.S. regions—not including the Midwest.

View the CDC data, here.