BA.5, part of the Omicron family, which has been dominant worldwide since the end of 2021, is dominant in Armenia too.

The National Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health has been cooperating with the Institute of Molecular Biology of the National Academy of Sciences and the Armenian-Russian University to carry out molecular-genetic studies of samples of patients with a positive PCR result for the coronavirus.

"Research showed that the following versions were found: B 1.1.529 (Omicron's original version), BA.2 (the Stealth variant), BA.4 and BA.5, which prevails both in the world and in Armenia," the NCDC said.

BA.5 has three key mutations in its spike protein that make it both better at infecting our cells and more adept at slipping past our immune defenses.

According to a report from CNN, in just over two months, BA.5 outcompeted its predecessors to become the dominant cause of Covid-19 in the United States. Last week, this subvariant caused almost 2 out of every 3 new Covid-19 infections in this country, according to the latest data from the CDC.