By the end of December, XBB.1.5 was responsible for 40% of cases in the U.S., according to data from the CDC.
A new Omicron subvariant is now driving COVID-19 outbreaks in the U.S.
This variant's sudden growth is causing concern among health experts, who warn that this variant may have a higher resistance to antibodies than previous strains. XBB.1.5 is the latest in a long string of descendants of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In a statement on Oct 27, the World Health Organization explained that XBB and its sublineages were actually a recombinant of the Omicron BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 subvariants. This means that the two variants exchanged genetic material to create a new version that carries aspects of both, something that can occur when two different variants co-infect the same cell.
"Available preliminary laboratory-based evidence suggests that XBB is the most antibody-evasive SARS-CoV-2 variant identified to date," the WHO stated in its Oct. 19th epidemiological update.
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