COVID omicron variant XBB.1.5 spreads rapidly in US as flu recedes: Shot

Infectious disease experts in the United States fear that the winter surge in respiratory illnesses that flooded emergency rooms with COVID-19 patients in January 2021 could still materialize this winter. increase. However, so far the initial peaks of RSV and influenza appear to be receding.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

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Mario Tama/Getty Images

Infectious disease experts in the United States fear that the winter surge in respiratory illnesses that flooded emergency rooms with COVID-19 patients in January 2021 could still materialize this winter. increase. However, so far the initial peaks of RSV and influenza appear to be receding.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

As the new year begins and the dead of winter approaches, a US infectious disease expert who has been watching the viral “triple-disease” stew that has plagued the United States says there is good news and bad news.

The good news is that the worst seems to have passed from the RSV surge that has made life miserable for many children and their parents. RSV Cases have been steadily declining since the end of November, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At the same time, the flu, which has largely disappeared over the past two years, has resurfaced this fall and appears to be finally abating in most places. latest data From the CDC on Friday.

“Some areas are seeing an increase or a stagnation in activity,” CDC medical epidemiologist Dr. Shikha Garg told NPR in an interview on Friday. “But in most areas it is declining.”

The virus that poses the greatest threat today is, as you might guess, the virus that causes COVID-19.

COVID to be ‘most of concern’ in the coming days and weeks

“We are seeing a sustained increase in COVID infections across the country,” said Dr. Ashish Jah, the White House coronavirus response coordinator told NPR in an interview. “So COVID is our number one concern as we look ahead in the days and weeks ahead.”

the rate is Coronavirus detected in wastewaterThe pandemic that pioneered it has tripled or quadrupled in many parts of the United States in recent weeks, Jha said. Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have jumped 70%, he says. And 300 to 400 people are dying from his COVID-19 every day.

To make matters worse, this is all happening at a time when yet another new and even more contagious variant is taking over in the US.This new omicron subvariant, called XBB.1. received little attention.But according to New estimates released by CDC on FridayXBB.1.5 is now the dominant variant in the Northeast, accounting for nearly one-third of new infections.

“The current increase in cases we are seeing started around the Thanksgiving holiday when people gathered. It accelerated even more,” Jha says.

“All major holidays have led to spikes in cases throughout the pandemic, so it’s unfortunately not surprising that there will be a distinct increase in infections, cases and hospitalizations in the coming weeks,” he said.

Why omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is spreading so fast

It said the spread of the coronavirus, Omicron subspecies XBB.1.5, “surge like a rocket”. Sam Scarpinotracking the new variant at Northeastern University. .”

The good news is, so far, there’s no evidence that the new variant makes people sicker than previous versions of the coronavirus. Most of the time it should actually prevent you from getting sick. The first two terrifying pandemic winters.

However, XBB.1.5 is easier than ever to partially evade immunity. And it has developed something that its predecessor did not: a mutation that allows it to infect cells more easily than others, making this version of his COVID-19 can be found more easily.

“XBB.1.5 acquired specific mutations that allow it to retain its antibody evasion properties while conferring a population-wide advantage,” they said. Jesse Blooma virologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle studying the variant.

This means that many people could catch COVID-19 this winter.

“The question is not whether it will cause a surge.

So public health officials are once again urging people to protect themselves.

How to protect yourself from coronavirus subvariant XBB.1.5

“What is clearer now than it was a year ago is that doing what we know works can really soften the worst,” Jha says.

This includes vaccinations and boosts, especially if you are older. Most deaths from COVID-19 occur in people over the age of 65.

Other precautions include avoiding crowded, poorly ventilated parties, restaurants, bars and other places. pre-collection testing; and yes, put that mask back on in dangerous situations. get treatment quickly.

“It’s time to let your guard down,” warns Dr. Tina Tanan infectious disease specialist at Northwestern University.

Luckily, most of the precautions you can take to reduce your risk of contracting COVID-19 will also help prevent resurgence of RSV and influenza. Winter is only just beginning, and the flu is still prevalent in many places at fairly high levels, experts say. This means that many people are still suffering from fevers, body aches, chills and other symptoms. may have caused As people return home from trips and family gatherings, schools reopen and people return to work.

The United States could see another flu wave later this winter. It happened during part of the Southern Hemisphere winter, and it often happens in the Northern Hemisphere as well.