Is Corona over now, or not yet? In any case, the opinions of the experts still differ in this country. With a view to the USA and the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, which is rapidly spreading there, some virologists are starting to sweat.
the essentials in brief
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The Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 has arrived in Germany.
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It is apparently the most contagious sub-variant.
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Experts expect new infections – including among those who have been vaccinated.
The omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 seems to be giving virologists a headache in Germany, because it is currently causing many infections in the north-east of the USA. The XBB.1.5 variant has so far been detected in around 30 countries – including Germany. However, the number of proofs of XBB.1.5 in this country is still very small. “One can say with some prognostic certainty that the variant will also become the dominant variant for us,” Bremen epidemiologist Hajo Zeeb is quoted as saying by “Brisant”.
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Apparently the most contagious subvariant
People who had previously been infected with Corona could infect the precursors of the current XBB variant again. The omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is now the “most contagious subvariant that has been discovered so far,” explains “Brisant”, citing the World Health Organization (WHO). However, there is still no evidence that XBB.1.5 causes more severe diseases than other virus variants.
However, the current XBB.1.5 variant is apparently spreading faster than other variants. The reason for this is possibly the recombination of two variants. This sub-variant of the omicron virus occurs primarily in countries with a low vaccination rate, including the USA.
As the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) adds, random tests of several virus variants show increasing proportions. According to the latest data in this country, the Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.5, which dominates in the USA, comes to six percent (as of: RKI/KW 3). But the RKI also expects a further increase for certain sublines of BA.2.75.
Experts have their eyes on the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5
“Hopefully we can get through the winter before such a variant can spread to us. We monitor whether and how strong XBB.1.5 occurs in Germany,” wrote Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach on Twitter on January 4th.
With reference to the MDR podcast “Kekulés Corona-Kompass”, “Brisant” quotes the virologist Alexander Kekulé: “That’s not worrying for me and it’s actually a normal process for viruses to mutate.”
If the omicron subvariant also comes to Germany, new infections with XBB.1.5 are possible – even among vaccinated people – but there would rather not be high death rates and hospital admissions.
