EG.5, like the other strains that have gained dominance in the U.S. over the last year-plus, is a subvariant of omicron. More precisely, it’s considered a descendant of the XBB lineage of the virus.

EG.5 made up 17.3% of all cases in the two-week period from July 23 to August 5, a large jump from the 0.4% of cases it made up between April 30 and May 13.

COVID infections and hospitalizations are on the rise in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Health officials are pointing at the EG.5 "Eris" coronavirus, a subvariant of the Omicron lineage that ...

EG.5 has been circulating in Canada since at least May, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The subvariant and its offshoots are predicted to have made up 36 per cent of cases ...

WHO classifies EG.5 as COVID-19 'variant of interest' By Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Leroy Leo August 9, 20232:08 PM PDTUpdated August 9, 2023 ...

WATCH: EG.5 is a new, fast-spreading COVID-19 subvariant now comprising more than a third of all cases in Canada. Katherine Ward looks at what's known about EG.5, and what doctors are advising the ...

Over time the virus has evolved and mutated, creating dozens of different variations that are all part of the big COVID-19 family. EG.5.1 is one of those, and is an offshoot of a variant called EG.5.

Variant EG.5, nicknamed “Eris,” is the new dominant strain of COVID-19 in the U.S., according to the CDC. Per a CDC report, recent upticks in COVID cases are largely due to this newest subvariant.