BQ.1 COVID-19 variant becomes increasingly prevalent in US infections: CDC - The Hill

A caller subvariant of the omicron variant of the coronavirus is becoming progressively prevalent successful the United States, according to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

CDC information shows that the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants each made up 5.7 percent of the full fig of cases successful the state successful the past week. The BA.5 subvariant, which has dominated the cases successful the U.S. for months, made up 67.9 percent, down from its highest successful precocious August erstwhile it made up astir 90 percent of each cases successful the country. 

The BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants person progressively dispersed successful caller weeks, lone trailing the BA.5 and BA.4.6 subvariants successful making up the astir cases. 

Anthony Fauci, the manager of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and President Biden’s main aesculapian adviser, told CBS News successful an interview that radical request to “keep our oculus out” for emerging variants contempt cases and hospitalizations being down. 

“When you get variants similar that, you look astatine what their complaint of summation is arsenic a comparative proportionality of the variants, and this has a beauteous troublesome doubling time,” helium said. 

Fauci said helium is disquieted that consequent variants whitethorn beryllium much effectual astatine evading medications that scientists person developed to assistance patients negociate the virus. 

“That’s the crushed wherefore radical are acrophobic astir BQ.1.1, for the treble crushed of its doubling clip and the information that it seems to elude important monoclonal antibodies,” helium said. 

Cases and hospitalizations person dropped since July, and deaths person been decreasing since August. But wellness officials person warned the nationalist to expect an summation successful cases arsenic the wintertime approaches. 

The Food and Drug Administration has authorized an updated booster dose of Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines to code the omicron subvariants. The booster is simply a bivalent vaccine, meaning it contains the mRNA vaccine for the archetypal strain of the coronavirus and the vaccine for different strain. 

This booster is targeting the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.