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EG.5 includes a strain with a subgroup of variants designated as EG.5.1, which a biology professor, T. Ryan Gregory, nicknamed "Eris" — an unofficial name that began trending on social media. Experts say EG.5 is one of the fastest growing lineages worldwide, thanks to what might be a "slightly beneficial mutation" that is helping it outcompete some of its siblings. (Tin, 8/7)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has its eyes on yet another new COVID-19 variant that has been linked to a spike in hospitalizations overseas. EG.5.1, nicknamed Eris, was added to the WHO SARS-CoV-2 variant monitoring list and has quickly become prevalent in both the U.K. and U.S. As of July 20, Eris is the second most common variant infecting people in the U.K., accounting for roughly 14.55% of cases and growing at a rate of 20.51% per week, according to The U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA). It trails behind fellow Omicron subvariant Arcturus, or XBB.1.16, at 41.82% of U.S. cases. (Walrath-Holdridge, 8/7)

The numbers of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the Chicago area have been slowly creeping upward as summer winds down, following a national trend and reminding people that COVID-19 is still lurking, even if it’s no longer top-of-mind. In Chicago, laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 were up 27%, to 67 new cases a day, on average, as of July 28, compared with the previous week, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health. (Schencker and Arougheti, 8/7)

The United States is experiencing a bump in coronavirus transmission for the first time since the public health emergency ended in May, exposing the challenges of avoiding the virus when free testing is no longer widely accessible. The Biden administration stopped mailing test kits to households in June. The ones Americans stockpiled over the last year and a half are expiring. Major insurers no longer pay for over-the-counter tests once the requirement to do so ended with the emergency declaration. (Nirappil, 8/7)