A new coronavirus variation, XBB.1.5, has just surfaced three years after the unique coronavirus first appeared. This is due to a potent combination of mutations that make it easier for it to spread widely, particularly among people who have already been sick or immunized.
According to new estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, XBB.1.5, deemed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “the most transmissible” descendant of the omicron variant thus far, increased from barely 2 percent of U.S. cases at the start of December to more than 27 percent the first week of January.
COVID-19 Cases Increase Due To New Variant
In New Mexico, a new COVID-19 variant XBB.1.5 that is spreading throughout the nation is raising some concerns.
“We anticipate seeing this contributing to our COVID illnesses. It’s taking over, and we’re seeing it moves across the United States.” Presbyterian Health Care’s chief medical officer Dr. Jason Mitchell said.
As a result of XBB.1.5, hospitals in our state, including Presbyterian, are currently planning for an increase in COVID-19 cases. Dr. Mitchell stated that because XBB.1.5 is a subvariant of omicron, “our omicron booster vaccinations are still effective against it.”
As they did for omicron, according to Dr. Mitchell, vaccination providers will continue to alter booster injections to target the most common COVID-19 variations.
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Omicron Subvariant XBB.1.5
According to virologists who have researched XBB.1.5, it does not appear to be more adept at avoiding antibodies than its predecessors, but it is better at latching to cells and multiplying. That implies it can more quickly become the dominant strain in a population than its relatives, but it doesn’t always increase an individual’s COVID-19 symptoms.
XBB elicited apprehension as a result of laboratory findings indicating that vaccine-generated antibodies struggle to neutralize the variation. But that doesn’t imply the vaccinations don’t work: For much of the last year, waves of infections from immune-evading varieties have not triggered spikes of severe sickness at hospitals, and doctors believe that broad protection from vaccinations and earlier infections are making individuals more tolerant to the virus.
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