Connor Bamford, a virologist from Belfast in Northern Ireland, advised the public to be vigilant of the BQ1 variant as it is quickly spreading in recent weeks. BQ1 is a strain of Omicron that has been detected in 50 countries and seems to be resistant to existing COVID-19 treatments.
Bamford told the Belfast Telegraph that the new variant is a cause for concern. He also warned that different variants of the virus appear constantly and that they continue to spread and get around humans' immunity a little bit and more new variants are expected to appear.
A pharmacist prepares to administer COVID-19 vaccine booster shots during an event hosted by the Chicago Department of Public Health at the Southwest Senior Center on September 09, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois.
BQ1 Poses Big Challenge to Immunocompromised People
Experts fear that the BQ1 variant of Omicron could pose a big threat to immunocompromised people given its immunity against treatments designed to prevent and treat COVID-19 infection, Daily Mirror reported.
Symptoms of the BQ1 are the same as other variants of COVID-19, which include cough, congestion, exhaustion, fever, sore throat, nausea, diarrhea, and headaches. However, not much is known yet about the variant although it seems to be as severe as other Omicron strains at this point, which is milder than the original delta variants.
Bamford added that the best protection available today against the worst effects of the virus is still the vaccines and boosters as they provide immunity to most COVID-19 variants.
Vaccines with boosters are helpful in stopping people from getting really sick even though there will be new variants in the future. They give assurance to the public to not be too alarmed about new variants.
BQ1 is just one of over 300 sublineages of the Omicron variant that is spreading all over the world. Most of Omicron's strains are direct descendants of BA.5, as per the World Health Organization.
READ ALSO: Children with Omicron At Higher Risk of Developing Respiratory Infections, Cardiac Arrests
BQ1 Spreading Quickly in the US
Dr. Jeremy Luban, a physician-scientist tracking the virus, told NPR that the pattern is quite similar to last year when the Delta variant was becoming old news when the Omicron variant entered the scene and spread across the country, bypassing vaccines. Now, two of its subvariants, known as BQ1 and BQ1.1, are showing similarities as it is quickly spreading in the US.
The two subvariant now account for the largest COVID-19 infections based on the end-of-week data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 44% of new infections this week are due to the two strains, while they account for 33% of the cases last week.
Laboratory tests show that they are better at escaping vaccines and booster shots than previous variants. Experts said that the last two mutations of Omicron were eliminated through existing monoclonal antibodies. So, it is interesting to see that the second generation seems to be immune from them. They recommend developing new antibody therapies that specifically target Omicron due to this.
RELATED ARTICLE: Omicron Variants, Subvariants FAQ Guide: How Each Stream Differs from One Another
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