The White House said on Tuesday it will ensure Americans continue to have easy access to COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and testing to contain the fast-spreading Omicron BA.5 subvariant as Dr. Antony Fauci explained there are indications the subvariant might be better at escaping immunity, including from prior infections. The BA.5 and BA.4 subvariants together accounted for more than 80 per cent of circulating variants in the U.S. last week, according to officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).