‘Stealth’ omicron cases are doubling in US, data shows. Is it a cause for concern?

Multiple outlets, including the Kansas City Star,The Raleigh News & Observer and The Miami Herald, published a story that quoted Thomas A. Russo, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, about whether the rise in cases of the “stealth” omicron subvariant, BA.2, should be cause for concern. “All in all, I think we’re really gonna be okay and I don’t think BA.2 is gonna be problematic like omicron,” he said. Russo also was quoted in three other COVID-related stories, including:

One published in MSN and Yahoo! on a new study that has found a link between COVID-19 and certain blood types. The paper analyzed more than 3,000 blood proteins to try to figure out which ones made someone more or less likely to develop severe COVID. “There have been multiple studies on blood types and COVID risk,” Russo said. “A few have not supported this association, but the majority have. It’s really fascinating.”

Another story that appeared in Yahoo! about whether parents should still send their kids to school in masks and other etiquette for keeping kids home. "It's best to stay home if they're symptomatic even if it isn't COVID-19 to prevent the spread of other respiratory viruses like flu and RSV," Russo says.

A third story published in Verywell Health had to do with a new study that suggested type 2 diabetes, when developed by COVID patients after contracting the virus, may be only temporary for some.