Scientists worry virus variant may push up COVID cases in US
By LAURA UNGAR
AP Science Writer
Scientists worry that a contagious coronavirus variant may soon push cases up in the United States just as it has in Europe and Asia. One reason? After about two months of falling cases in the U.S., COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted across the nation. People are taking off their masks and returning to indoor spaces. At the same time, immunity from vaccines is waning and the amount of the variant called BA.2 is rising in the U.S. Experts are also monitoring another variant: a rare delta-omicron hybrid that they say is not posing much of a threat at this point.
