QUICK ENGLAND VARIANT UPDATE:
Latest dominant variant BQ.1.1 is losing its dominance already - instead CH.1.1 (~16% of cases) and v new XBB.1.5 (~2%) are on the march.
CH.1.1 is growing faster than BQ.1.1 did and (so far - small numbers!) XBB.1.5 is faster than CH.1.1. 1/3
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XBB.1.5 has come to prominence this week as it surges in New York. has summarised the evidence on it here
erictopol.substack.com/p/a-new-varian
I've seen less on CH.1.1 but apparently it has recently acquired a new mutation n:t135i which might accelerate its growth. 2/3
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Unclear what it means for UK in January/February, but certainly the virus isn't sitting still. Also, we have plenty of emerging variants and could be trying to reduce transmission without invoking what is currently happening in China!. 3/3
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XBB.1.5 looking nasty over here in East coast Christina - imagine international holiday travel will bring it over
I for will be masking and testing when travelling back
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Friends traveled back from Vietnam and both have been quite I’ll with Covid despite double boosters! No idea what variant as no one is closely monitoring. Severe gastrointestinal sx and sore throat, cough, tiredness, etc
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Where is this information gathered? Most people I know don't even report they have Covid even the ones addicted to the jabs !
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Thank you for this update. I know four boosted people who have been infected this month, three to seven months after their previous infections. I won't be relying on hybrid immunity.
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Think XBB 1.5 is probably winning here - growth rates in England especially on CovSpec closely match NYC. Both here & NY the main competitor is BQ 1.1 so it's smashing that hands down, Not sure of primary drivers yet: immune evasion or increased ACE2 affinity - poss both.
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Interesting but not really news. Are any of them more dangerous? Doesnt sound like it but we should continue to monitor. Will be news if/when new dangerous variant emerges.