{"id":537244,"date":"2023-01-08T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-08T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-we-know-about-the-xbb-1-5-covid-variant-sweeping-the-northeast\/"},"modified":"2023-01-08T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-01-08T11:00:00","slug":"what-we-know-about-the-xbb-1-5-covid-variant-sweeping-the-northeast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-we-know-about-the-xbb-1-5-covid-variant-sweeping-the-northeast\/","title":{"rendered":"#What we know about the XBB.1.5 COVID variant sweeping the Northeast"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3cfe1085273\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3cfe1085273\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-we-know-about-the-xbb-1-5-covid-variant-sweeping-the-northeast\/#What_we_know_about_the_XBB15_COVID_variant_sweeping_the_Northeast\" >What we know about the XBB.1.5 COVID variant sweeping the Northeast<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-we-know-about-the-xbb-1-5-covid-variant-sweeping-the-northeast\/#%E2%80%98Most_transmissible_omicron_subvariant_so_far\" >\u2018Most transmissible\u2019 omicron subvariant so far<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-we-know-about-the-xbb-1-5-covid-variant-sweeping-the-northeast\/#Cases_are_expected_to_rise\" >Cases are expected to rise<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-we-know-about-the-xbb-1-5-covid-variant-sweeping-the-northeast\/#First_detected_in_the_US_before_spreading_globally\" >First detected in the US before spreading globally<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-we-know-about-the-xbb-1-5-covid-variant-sweeping-the-northeast\/#Its_a_recombinant_virus_What_does_that_mean\" >It\u2019s a recombinant virus. What does that mean?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-we-know-about-the-xbb-1-5-covid-variant-sweeping-the-northeast\/#Treatments_and_vaccines_likely_still_effective\" >Treatments and vaccines likely still effective<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_we_know_about_the_XBB15_COVID_variant_sweeping_the_Northeast\"><\/span>What we know about the XBB.1.5 COVID variant sweeping the Northeast<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/01\/covidtest_010423_ap-seth-wenig_xbb.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant is raising concerns of a potential surge in\u00a0COVID-19\u00a0cases\u00a0as it\u00a0sweeps across the Northeast.<\/p>\n<p>Officials have warned in recent weeks that the strain is highly transmissible, can more easily evade the immunity offered by vaccines or prior infections than past variants \u2014 and is likely to drive cases up around the country.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The subvariant has already rapidly spread in the Northeast, where it is currently estimated to be causing about 72 percent of infections.<\/p>\n<p>Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated last week that XBB.1.5 was the most prevalent subvariant in the U.S. as a whole, accounting for\u00a040.5 percent\u00a0of cases in the country. However, this information is subject to change as more data is collected from states, and XBB.1.5\u2019s share of\u00a0U.S.\u00a0cases has fallen\u00a0to an estimated 27.6 percent as of Friday.<\/p>\n<p>But while\u00a0another omicron subvariant,\u00a0BQ.1.1,\u00a0is still dominant in the country\u00a0beyond the Northeast, XBB.1.5 has also reached all other regions of the U.S., and officials predict it will continue to spread. Due to its recent ascent,\u00a0data on XBB.1.5 is limited, but health officials have disclosed some key insights into the strain, as well as what\u00a0questions remain unanswered.<\/p>\n<p>Here is what know about XBB.1.5:<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98Most_transmissible_omicron_subvariant_so_far\"><\/span><strong>\u2018Most transmissible\u2019 omicron subvariant so far<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>\u200b\u200bXBB.1.5 is \u201cthe most transmissible subvariant that has been detected yet\u201d\u00a0of the already highly contagious omicron strain,\u00a0Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead of the World Health Organization\u2019s (WHO) COVID-19 response, said in a recent briefing.<\/p>\n<p>Van Kerkhove attributed the subvariant\u2019s high transmissibility to the mutations it carries\u00a0allowing it to \u201cadhere to the cell and replicate easily.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Ashish Jha, the White House\u2019s COVID-19 response coordinator, concurred with\u00a0Van Kerkhove\u2019s\u00a0assessment, saying on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a> that XBB.1.5 was most likely more\u00a0able to evade immunity\u00a0than previous omicron subvariants.<\/p>\n<p>People who have not recently been infected\u00a0with COVID-19\u00a0or vaccinated\u00a0against it\u00a0probably have \u201cvery little protection against infection\u201d caused by XBB.1.5, Jha further advised.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cases_are_expected_to_rise\"><\/span><strong>Cases are expected to rise<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The northeastern regions of the country\u00a0have already\u00a0seen\u00a0a recent rise in cases,\u00a0according to data from\u00a0the Department of Health and Human Services. Hospitalizations in these areas have\u00a0also\u00a0risen between 10 and 15 percent, though it remains to be seen if XBB.1.5 causes more severe illness than previous subvariants and is behind this jump.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf\u00a0said when speaking about XBB.1.5\u00a0this week that he expected a\u00a0further\u00a0increase in cases.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe XBB variant and its related variants (XBB.1 &amp; XBB.1.5) are sweeping through the Northeast and will likely move to other regions quickly,\u201d\u00a0he\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrCaliff_FDA\/status\/1610727795084218369?s=20&amp;t=TGSHfiwpxAwGc3dB5VGBKQ\">tweeted<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But Califf noted that the cases caused by XBB.1.5 and other new variants don\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ear to be more serious than those caused by past strains of the virus.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cAt this point, we\u2019re experiencing an increase in cases with no evidence of increased severity of illness related to these variants,\u201d\u00a0he said.<\/p>\n<p>Van Kerkhove echoed\u00a0Califf\u2019s\u00a0forecast, saying, \u201cWe do expect further waves of infection around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut,\u201d\u00a0she added,\u00a0\u201cthat doesn\u2019t have to translate to further waves of death, because our countermeasures continue to work.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"First_detected_in_the_US_before_spreading_globally\"><\/span><strong>First detected in the US before spreading globally<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>While XBB, the subvariant from which XBB.1.5 descends, was\u00a0initially\u00a0detected in India, the latter mutation is believed to have first been identified in the U.S. in October.<\/p>\n<p>It has since been detected in 29 other countries, according to the WHO. Roughly a dozen countries in the European Union\u00a0alone\u00a0have detected XBB.1.5, though levels of the subvariant remain low\u00a0there,\u00a0according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Its_a_recombinant_virus_What_does_that_mean\"><\/span><strong>It\u2019s a recombinant virus. What does that mean?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>XBB.1.5 is considered a recombinant virus, meaning it carries genetic data from two previous viral mutations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The subvariant is descended from XBB, which in turn has genetic data from two viral strains that descended from the BA.2 \u201cstealth\u201d subvariant.\u00a0That strain,\u00a0characterized by its mutations that made it difficult to track with PCR tests, was the most prevalent in the U.S. in early 2022 before being overtaken by two other omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Treatments_and_vaccines_likely_still_effective\"><\/span><strong>Treatments and vaccines likely still effective<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Countermeasures are currently still expected to be effective at treating COVID-19 infections caused by XBB.1.5 and reducing\u00a0the severity of illness,\u00a0as Van Kerkhove said.<\/p>\n<p>Jha said the updated bivalent COVID-19 booster is still the \u201cbest protection\u201d against infection and severe illness.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Califf noted that while\u00a0that booster\u00a0has been observed to be less\u00a0effective in\u00a0neutralizing against the XBB strain when compared to the ancestral strain, the neutralization\u00a0it offered\u00a0was still strong enough to provide \u201csome degree of protection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Columbia University researchers found in an early preprint study that subvariants descended from the BQ and XBB lines are better\u00a0than previous strains\u00a0at\u00a0evading neutralizing antibodies.\u00a0Neutralizing antibodies,\u00a0which can be gained through prior infections or vaccination,\u00a0stop infections by binding to viruses and blocking them from attaching to cells.<\/p>\n<p>Mutations and changes to the SARS-CoV-2 virus can make it harder for neutralizing antibodies to recognize and detect the virus when it enters\u00a0a person\u2019s\u00a0system,\u00a0enabling the virus to\u00a0evade\u00a0an immune response that could have otherwise stopped it from causing infection.<\/p>\n<p>But\u00a0the researchers\u00a0noted that vaccines have still been shown to be effective\u00a0against such strains.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cIt is important to emphasize that although infections may now be more likely, COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to remain effective at preventing hospitalization and severe disease even against Omicron as well as possibly reducing the risk of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC or long COVID),\u201d\u00a0they\u00a0said.<\/p>\n<p>Oral antivirals like Paxlovid and molnupiravir are also still expected to be effective\u00a0against XBB.1.5, as they don\u2019t function by boosting antibodies\u00a0\u2014 which the strain appears better able to evade \u2014\u00a0but by hindering the virus\u2019s ability to replicate itself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/healthcare\/3803161-what-we-know-about-the-xbb-1-5-covid-variant-sweeping-the-northeast\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What we know about the XBB.1.5 COVID variant sweeping the Northeast The XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant is raising concerns of a potential surge in\u00a0COVID-19\u00a0cases\u00a0as it\u00a0sweeps across the Northeast. Officials have warned in recent weeks that the strain is highly transmissible, can more easily evade the immunity offered by vaccines or prior infections than past variants \u2014&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":537245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/01\/covidtest_010423_ap-seth-wenig_xbb.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134344,134418,134447,80445,90482,134446],"class_list":["post-537244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-administration","tag-congress-blog","tag-energy-and-environment","tag-healthcare","tag-house","tag-sunday-talk-shows"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=537244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/537245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=537244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=537244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=537244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}