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CONTAGIOUS STRAIN. SBP POINT ONE. POINT FIVE IS THE NAME OF THE LATEST COVID VARIANT THAT THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION IS WARNING AGAINST. THE VARIANT IS A MUTATION OF OTHER OMICRON VARIANTS, MAKING IT HIGHLY TRANSMISSIBLE. WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT’S FAR MORE CONTAGIOUS AND FAR MORE TRANSMISSIBLE THAN IT HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY, AND THAT’S REALLY THE CONCERN THAT WE HAVE WITH THIS NEW VARIANT. LOCAL HOSPITALS SAY THEIR NUMBERS ARE CURRENTLY HOLDING STEADY. THEY ARE CARING FOR COVID PATIENTS, BUT NOT AT THE CRITICAL LEVELS PREVIOUSLY SEEN MORE THAN 3000 POSITIVE TESTS HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN ONE WEEK. NIWA, ACCORDING TO THE STATE’S MOST RECENT DATA, MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM WHAT’S HAPPENING IS GET VACCINATED WITH THE NEW BIVALENT VACCINE THAT CAME OUT IN SEPTEMBER. THE CDC ESTIMATES THIS NEW VARIANT WILL BECOME DOMINANT IN THE COMING WEEKS. JUST TWO WEEKS AGO, ESTIMATES SAID THE VARIANT ACCOUNTED FOR NEARLY 12% OF INFECTIONS. NOW THE CDC ESTIMATES IT ACCOUNTS FOR ABOUT 27% OF COVID FACTIONS. WHILE MANY OF US HAVE STOPPED WEARING OUR MASKS, DR. SABINA SAYS IT COULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO DO SO. WHEN YOU’RE AROUND A LOT OF PEOPLE, WE KNOW IT PREVENTS SPREAD WHEN WE HAVE A HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS VARIANT OUT THERE. IF YOU’RE IN A CROWDED OUTDOOR AREA, IF YOU’RE INDOORS OR ESPECIALLY IN CROWDED AREAS AND IN AREAS THAT HAVE HIGH TRANSMISSION, I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND MASKING. LAUREN JOHNSON REPORTING FOR ����vlog 8 NEWS. IOWA’S NEWS LEADER. AND LAST MONTH, COVID 19 POSITIVITY RATES IN IOWA HIT A NEW HI