According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a pair of omicron subvariants descended from BA.5 are making inroads into the US variant arena.
According to the CDC’s weekly variant proportions report published on Friday, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 were responsible for more than 11% of COVID-19 infections this week. A month earlier, the couple was responsible for fewer than 1% of illnesses. The duo was previously included with BA.5 in the CDC release, but have since been separated, reducing BA.5’s frequency to around 68% of coronavirus infections this week.
According to Eric Topol, founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, the rapid emergence of BQ.1.1, which possesses mutations that presumably make it particularly adept at avoiding past immunity, “sets it up to be the primary driver of the next US wave in the weeks ahead.”
Before a predicted coronavirus increase in the autumn and winter, health officials in the United States have been promoting revised booster doses that target omicron and its subvariants. Coronavirus cases are increasing in Europe, which usually anticipates an increase in the United States within a few weeks.
“We’re expected to see a fresh, significant surge in infections here in the United States in the latter fall and winter,” White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha recently stated.
The new vaccinations, according to Jha, “should give a substantially better degree of protection against infection, transmission, and certainly against serious illness, hospitalizations, and fatalities.”
The Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccinations for children as young as five years old this week, citing worries about exposure risks when youngsters return to school and resume other activities.
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