evidence: COVID cases continue to rise in the U.S. due to the new EG.5, or Eris, variant. AMA Vice President of Science, Medicine and Public Health Andrea Garcia, JD, MPH, analyzes the increase in COVID hospitalizations and shares the latest news about the EG.5 and BA.2.86, or Pirola, variants. Plus, the CDC Health Advisory on fatal Vibrio vulnificus (or V. vulnificus) infections and what physicians and patients need to know about it. AMA Chief Experience Officer Todd Unger hosts. [...] One study showed that across a range of different types of immunity, people were able to neutralize BA.2.86 and sometimes even more effectively than other circulating variants. Those people with the highest neutralizing antibodies were those that had recently recovered from an XBB infection. This suggests that the new vaccines should provide pretty good protection against BA.2.86. Again, that's encouraging. It's still early. Studies are still ongoing. So this is an area that we're going to continue to track.