New Omicron Covid-19 variants that experts say appears to spread easily are on the rise in the US, a report said quoting the latest federal data. Emphasizing on how the variants could present new risks, Wall Street Journal reported that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates released on Friday, the two Omicron subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 could represent a combined 11.4% of US Covid infections by mid-October.
Both the Omicron subvariants are related to the BA.5 version which remains the dominant version of the virus in the US with about 68% of recent cases, CDC data showed. Experts are also watching out for BA.2.72.2 which represented an estimated 1.4% of cases in the latest CDC report.
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The BQ subvariants’ quick rise “suggests that they either have increased transmissibility or increased immune escape compared with BA.5.,” the Wall Street Journal quoted Dan Barouch, who directs the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, as saying.
Earlier, a study that hasn’t been peer reviewed suggested that BQ.1.1. and other new subvariants might be more resistant to some antibody treatments.
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Hospitalisations have largely been on a downward trajectory in the US since late July after a BA.5-fuelled surge. In parts of Europe, cases and hospitalization numbers are on the rise again in what appears to be led by the BA.5 subvariant, reports said.