The emerging COVID-19 variant BQ.1 and one of its descendants now account for more than 1 in 10 cases in the U.S., according to the CDC’s latest data.
Oct. 17, 2022 – The emerging COVID-19 variant BQ.1 and one of its descendants now account for more than 1 in 10 cases in the U.S., according to"When you get variants like that, you look at what their rate of increase is as a relative proportion of the variants, and this has a pretty troublesome doubling time," Anthony Fauci, MD, said. Fauci is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and also the chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden.
Currently, the most widespread variant in the U.S. is the Omicron subvariant known as BA.5, which accounts for 68% of all infections. One of the go-to treatments for BA.5 infections is, which may not be as effective when fighting the up-and-coming strains of BQ.1 and its descendant BQ.1.1, according to experts.
Currently, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 appear most widespread in the New York and New Jersey region, accounting for nearly 20% of infections there, according to the CDC.