An individual receives a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test because the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread in Manhattan, Recent York City, U.S., December 22, 2021.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
The omicron BQ coronavirus subvariants have risen to dominance within the U.S. as people gather and travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, putting individuals with compromised immune systems at increased risk.
BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 are causing 57% of latest infections within the U.S., based on data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday. The omicron BA.5 subvariant, once dominant, now makes up only a fifth of latest Covid cases.
The BQ subvariants are more immune evasive and sure proof against key antibody medications, corresponding to Evusheld and bebtelovimab, utilized by individuals with compromised immune systems, based on the National Institutes of Health. This includes organ transplant and cancer chemotherapy patients.
There are currently no replacements for these drugs. President Joe Biden, in an October speech, told individuals with compromised immune systems that they need to seek the advice of with their physicians and take extra precautions this winter.
“Recent variants may make some existing protections ineffective for the immunocompromised. Sadly, this implies you might be at a special risk this winter,” Biden said.
The XBB subvariant can be circulating at a low level straight away, causing about 3% of latest infections. Chief White House medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, in a briefing Tuesday, said XBB is much more immune evasive than the BQ subvariants.
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the brand new boosters, which were designed against omicron BA.5, probably aren’t as effective against infection and mild illness from XBB. However the shots should protect against severe disease, he said. Singapore saw a spike in cases from XBB, but there wasn’t a significant surge in hospitalizations, he added.
Moderna and Pfizer said last week that their boosters induce an immune response against BQ.1.1, which is a descendent of the BA.5 subvariant.
Fauci, within the press briefing, said public health officials imagine there’s enough immunity from vaccination, boosting and infection to forestall a repeat of the unprecedented Covid surge that occurred last winter when omicron first arrived.
