Coronavirus Update: COVID cases surge again in Europe as Moderna says its booster candidate protects against BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants

COVID cases are again surging in Europe, driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of omicron that are deemed to be 10% to 15% more infectious than earlier variants and are spreading fast in Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, the Netherlands and Denmark.