U.S. CDC: XBB.1.5 is spreading rapidly in the U.S. The percentage of new cases has soared to 43 percent

January 13, 2023January 13, 2023

Read Time:1 Minute, 57 Second

Data released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that the XBB.1.5 subvariant is spreading rapidly in the United States and has become the fastest-rising strain in the country, having accounted for 43 percent of new cases in the U.S. in the week ending Jan. 14.

In contrast, XBB.1.5 accounted for only 27.6% of all new cases in the U.S. in the week ending Jan. 7. One week later, that figure had soared to 43 percent, an eye-popping rise that also exceeded the CDC’s expectations.

The CDC notes that XBB.1.5 accounts for 43% of the nation’s sequenced cases and has surpassed BQ.1.1 (28.8%) and BQ.1 (15.9%) as the dominant strain in the United States.

The Biden administration this week announced another 90-day extension of the U.S. New Crown public health emergency in response to the highly infectious XBB.1.5.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said the U.S. outbreak this winter will be different from the situation in the previous two years because a new New Crown bivalent vaccine is now available. The spokesman stressed that the new vaccine is safe and effective and that Americans should get it as soon as possible.

WHO on Wednesday also identified XBB.1.5 as the “most transmissible offspring” of the Omicron variant, with greater infectivity and immune escape, which could lead to a significant increase in cases worldwide.

However, WHO noted that symptoms of infection with the XBB.1.5 subvariant are similar to those of infection with other new crown strains, and XBB.1.5 has not been found to cause more severe disease.

WHO officials noted that given the recent epidemic of XBB.1.5 in countries and regions such as the United States, countries are advised to require people to wear masks when traveling on long-haul flights. WHO officials also confirmed that a meeting will be held on Jan. 27 to discuss a decision on whether the new crown outbreak will remain a global emergency.

While it is unclear whether XBB.1.5 will trigger a global wave of infection, experts say the current New Crown booster shot could still prevent serious illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths.