On social networks they have already renamed them Gryphon and Cerberus. Will these emerging sub-variants of Omicron grow and make their way into the world? According to various predictions, yes. The World Health Organization, through the epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove, Technical Lead for Covid-19, takes stock of what is known about XBB and BQ.1, specifying that “in none of the data available so far is there a change in gravity “.
Currently, explains the expert in a video posted on Twitter, Omicron continues to dominate the world and almost 80% of the sequences reported globally belong to BA.5 (Omicron 5) and its sub-lineages.
But something is moving and the new sub-variants are trampling. XBB, alias Gryphon, is a recombinant of two sub-lineages of Omicron 2 (BA.2), specifically BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 (Centaurus). “It is one of more than 300 Omicron sub-variants that we and our partners are monitoring around the world,” Van Kerkhove points out. “It is receiving attention, and rightly so, because we see a growth advantage and are seeing an increase in case detection in some countries. But we see no signs of a change in severity.” Circulation levels “are still low, but we have to keep an eye on it because it is Omicron and because it has a large number of mutations like all Omicron sub-lineages” and it seems to have advantages.
The other mutant it is making headlines, BQ.1 (which with its sub-lineage BQ.1.1 forms the Cerberus family), is a sub-variant of BA.5. “This too has higher transmissibility. Are we seeing an increase in people needing hospital admissions for BQ.1? No, we don’t see that in any of the data so far. We see an increase in transmission but we don’t see a change in severity. Our diagnostic tests work, our vaccines work. ”
Kluge’s ‘reminder’, ‘the pandemic is not over and even young people are vulnerable, too many unvaccinated’
The new Omicron XBB and BQ.1 sub-variants are also in the spotlight in Europe. BQ.1 is given as the next dominant sub-variant in the EU by December by the ECDC (European Center for Disease Prevention and Control), as the European drug agency Ema also recalled today, which is closely monitoring both this and XBB. . The message being reiterated in Europe is: who has to get vaccinated and get the boosters now.
A message reaffirmed also by WHO Europe with what the regional director Hans Kluge calls a “friendly reminder: the pandemic is not over – he repeats – and young people are also vulnerable. We are in a far better position now, but too many remain. not vaccinated. Get Covid vaccinations, including boosters, and even flu vaccinations “, in view of the cold season when respiratory viruses go crazy.
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