The World Health Organization has identified the omicron subvariant E-G-5 as a COVID variant of interest. Nancy Wilde, the manager of infection prevention at UnityPoint Health, says however, the variant doesn’t appear to cause more severe illness.

Wilde says you will still want to take precautions to avoid getting sick.

She says you should check with your doctor for advice and to make sure you are up to date on your COVID vaccinations.