The mutation appeared in England, 18 million people are sick in Shanghai
A new highly contagious variant of COVID-19 has appeared in Britain, Western media reported. The mutation, called XBB.1.5, now occurs in one in 25 cases on the island. It has also raised alarm in the USA, where it is responsible for 4 out of 10 patients in the country, we read”24 hours”.
XBB.1.5, which is a variant of Omicron, has mutations that help it avoid protection from vaccination and previous diseases. However, there is currently no indication that XBB.1.5 causes more serious disease. Experts explain that one of its mutations is thought to improve the virus’s ability to bind to cells.
Data from the Sanger Institute in the UK shows that 4% of cases in the week to December 17 were caused by XBB.1.5. It is derived from Omicron’s XBB variant, which was first unveiled in India in August. According to Professor Lawrence Young of Warwick University, the new type of virus is highly contagious and
leading to an increase in hospital admissions
in New York, especially among the elderly.
Long waits for housing are killing up to 500 people from the coronavirus in Britain every week, health experts warn. The health service cites a lack of staff and hospital beds as the reason.
Data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed the new variant was responsible for 41% of cases. Just a week earlier they were 22%.
According to epidemiologist Prof. Paul Hunter, most new variants disappear after a few weeks. However, the rapid increase of XBB.1.5. it’s alarming and could trigger another wave, he adds.
Microbiologist Dr. Simon Clark said the ability of XBB.1.5. to evade immunity is observed only in the laboratory. “It’s hard to figure out how it works in real life,” he observes. According to Clark, it will be interesting to monitor the situation in the coming months, as the usual annual surge in flu hospitalizations is usually highest in January and February. Professor Francois Ballou, an infectious disease expert in London, said cases of the new variant were likely to rise globally in the near future.
At the same time, China has admitted that the number of COVID deaths in the country is high and that 70% of Shanghai residents are infected, or about 18 million people. The sharp rise in infections began after the strict policy to prevent the virus was abruptly ended last month. Health authorities said the country is seeing an increase in serious cases and deaths. However, in an effort to play down the situation, they said the peak was similar to other countries. President Xi Jinping has admitted the errors of his strict COVID policy that
failed to contain the virus
and sparked the country’s first mass protests in decades. However, his new strategy has led to an increase in cases, which are currently peaking. In the first 20 days of December, the government estimates that a staggering 248 million people – 18% of the population – contracted the virus in the country.
