The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that a new Omicron variant has taken hold in the United States. The COVID-19 variant XBB.1.5 is spreading in the US, sparking worries about another possible wave of COVID-19 following the hectic Christmas travel season.
According to the CDC, about 41% of verified cases in the U.S. is caused by the XBB.1.5 Omicron strain, which is a 20% increase from a week ago In the Northeast, approximately 75% of confirmed cases are XBB.1.5.
People walk through a busy shopping area amid the coronavirus pandemic on January 05, 2021 in New York City.
Omicron Subvariant XBB.1.5 Taking Over the US
Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 was first reported in November 2022 after it has overtaken the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants, both dominating the COVID-19 cases in the fall.
According to the health agency, XBB.1.5 is a relative of the XBB strain that has mostly been documented in the northeastern United States. More than 70% of COVID cases from New York to Maine are now XBB.1.5. Experts have warned that the strengthened variant might cause problems over the hectic Christmas travel season.
Dr. Barbara Mahon, director of the CDC's proposed Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division, told CBS News that they are projecting XBB.1.5 to become the dominant variant in the Northeast region of the US and that it is going to increase in other regions as well.
Johns Hopkins University virologist Andrew Pekosz said that the new Omicron variant appears to be highly immune because it has additional mutational that allows it to bind to cells. He told CNBC that the virus needs to bind tightly to cells to become more efficient at getting in and help the virus a bit more at infecting people.
However, experts said that there is little indication that the variant will cause more severe illness or poses any greater danger to those infected with different strains. Still, they urge caution as COVID-19 hospitalization has risen in the country in the past weeks as the nation celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Hospitalizations have risen 3.6% across the US in the last few weeks of December. But experts do not expect it to reach the level they did last winter. Meanwhile, mortality rates in the US due to the virus remained steady as only 2,530 Americans died from the virus compared to the 17,048 deaths in the same period in 2021.
XBB Has Immune Evasive Characteristics
As per an NBC News report, the XBB and XBB.1.5 make up 44% of cases in the US and have crowded out other versions of Omicron. The World Health Organization (WHO) said that XBB has been found in at least 70 countries and has caused surges of COVID-19 infection in some parts of Asia in October.
XBB has been reported to be capable of evading antibodies from past COVID-19 infections or immunizations, implying that being exposed to the virus increases the likelihood of being sick or reinfected and exhibiting symptoms.
Infectious disease expert Dr. Isaach Bogoch said that it is clear the XBB has immune evasive properties, which has been demonstrated in both laboratory studies and in real cases in hospitalizations.
Experts hope that even if cases start to increase, there will not be a dramatic spike in hospitalizations or deaths like the previous waves given the high level of population in the US either through infection or vaccination, or both.
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