A new subspecies of Omicron, XBB.1.5, accounts for 40.5% of new COVID-19 cases in the United States. At present, there are about 59,000 new cases per day in the United States, which is at a relatively low level. Case reporting has a lag over the holidays, and numbers could surge in the coming days. Although the number of cases has not increased, there has been a significant increase in the number of hospitalizations, especially in areas where the XBB.1.5 subspecies is endemic. But that doesn’t mean XBB.1.5 is any more serious than previous variants. Because with the prevalence of a more transmissible subtype, the number of hospitalizations will increase, including the decline of immunity, and the low vaccination rate of the second-order booster among the elderly. XBB.1.5 has an advantage in spreading, so its number of infections will continue to increase. Early studies show that the second-order reinforcement is still highly resistant to XBB.1.5.
This article is transferred from: https://www.solidot.org/story?sid=73806
This site is only for collection, and the copyright belongs to the original author.