In what areas is the XBB.1.5 more common?
Since the XBB.1.5 variant comprises 28% of the cases nationally and more than 70% of the cases in the northeast, the CDC says this is the most common variant in the US. Researchers from the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg estimate that XBB.1.5 is spreading so fast that the cases are almost doubling every week in our country.
That is comparable to the rate of growth of the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants in September 2022, but slower than previous Omicron waves.
What we don’t know clearly is if XBB.1.5 will be better controlled or if it will cause an increase in the number of infections. BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 appeared ready to generate large waves, only to fade out throughout Europe and North America.
If the same scenario happens with XBB.1.5, the lineage may end up silently replacing other versions in some countries without creating a considerable rise in cases.
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