A pair of rapidly spreading omicron subvariants have overtaken BA.5 because the dominant COVID-19 strains circulating within the U.S., based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
BQ.1 is now the highest strain. It was liable for greater than 25% of latest coronavirus infections this week, based on CDC’s weekly variant update. That’s up from just 7% of infections a month ago. The subvariant can be increasing globally, going from 13% of cases to 16% last week, based on the World Health Organization.
And BQ.1.1 is close behind, causing over 24% of COVID-19 cases within the U.S. this week. That’s up from 5% of infections a month ago. The pair raises concerns because they look like highly contagious and adept at evading previous immunity, but they don’t appear to be more severe than previous strains.
Cartoons on the Coronavirus
While the pair of subvariants spreads, previously dominant BA.5 has declined significantly. This week it was liable for 24% of latest infections, which is down from 65% of cases a month ago. It’s the primary time since July that BA.5 hasn’t topped the CDC’s variant update.
The trend comes because the Biden administration is pushing for Americans to get updated COVID-19 booster shots before the vacations to assist mitigate a possible fall and winter coronavirus wave. But uptake of the shots, which goal the omicron subvariant in addition to the unique coronavirus strain, has been slow, with only 11% of the eligible population getting the shots.
Health care systems are already under stress because the flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, surge. Experts asked the Biden administration this week to declare a national emergency to answer the rise in pediatric hospitalizations as a consequence of the respiratory illnesses circulating.
The Children’s Hospital Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics wrote in a letter that the “confluence of those capability issues in pediatric hospitals and communities requires nimbleness and flexibilities that may only be provided through a Presidential declaration of an emergency under the Stafford Act or National Emergencies Act and a Public Health Emergency declaration.”
However the Biden administration evaded the decision, with an official saying that “public health emergencies are determined based on nationwide data, science trends, and the insight of public health experts.”
