What are the new Omicron subvariants, XBB and XBB.1? 5 important facts you need to know!

Ever since the terms "virus" and "variants" have become a topic of discussion in every household around the globe in the last 2-3 years, mankind has suffered havoc.

And oh, the disaster is perhaps not willing to settle down anytime soon, with the advent of new viruses every now and then.  For instance, the newest virus is the brand new Omicron subvariant XBB.

What is the XBB?

Simply stated, the XBB is a new variant of the Omicron virus, which is said to be the strongest and most vaccine evasive till now.

Currently, the new variant strain is stirring a surge in cases in Bangladesh and Singapore. 

Singapore has seen a daily average of around 5,500 cases in the past week. The situation is getting alarming, as a month ago, the daily average was 2,000 cases a month ago.

Moreover, while death numbers remain low, hospitalization in the country has increased with the increase in cases. As far as the death numbers are concerned, a little less than a dozen cases were recorded in the past week.

It is important to note that 90% of the population of Singapore has received two doses of the COVID vaccine. Additionally, over 79% had also chosen a minimum of one booster shot.

Talking about the scenario in Bangladesh, the country, too, is recording a small hike in cases, albeit the numbers are not as high as in Singapore. 

Bangladesh recorded a daily average of around 500 cases in the first week of October. A month earlier, the daily average was just around 300 cases. The country has 75.5% of its population vaccinated.

The XBB.1

Adding to the woes comes a new subvariant of the new Omicron variant XBB.

Yes, The recent XBB subvariant- XBB.1-, first detected in Hong Kong, is increasingly concerning leaders around the world. Moreover, Hong Kong's health officials state that the positive cases of this new subvariant demonstrated no symptoms. 

Dr. Gilman Siu Kit-hang, a leading expert from China, provided valuable insight into the new subvariant. As per Dr. Gilman Siu Kit-hang, what makes the new variant even more challenging to deal with is the fact that it possesses the strongest ability till now to evade vaccine protection. The expert also warned that more strains would be present in the chilly winter seasons.

5 important facts you can't miss about the Omicron XBB.1 subvariant:

1. As per Dr. Gilman Siu Kit-hang, the Omicron subvariant XBB.1 was found in an imported infection and is actually a combination of BA.2.10 and BA.2.75.

2. The subvariant is strong, so strong that it is more evasive to vaccine immunity, as compared to the previous variants.

3. Dr. Gilman Siu Kit-hang has stated that the new subvariant XBB.1 was found in Singapore for the first time. Meanwhile, Bangladesh and Nepal have also recorded XBB.1 cases.

4. Dr. Gilman Siu Kit-hang expressed that it was not easy to say if XBB.1 would rise up to be the dominant strain in Hong Kong.

5. Dr. Gilman Siu Kit-hang has also warned that more mutant strains are expected to rise in the winter season all over the world. 

Will immunizations not be of help to fight these new variants?

The XBB strain is a combination of two distinct Omicron strains. It is said to be so strong that it is immune-evasive.

The XBB strain is “probably the most immune-evasive yet”, said Raj Rajnarayanan, professor at the New York Institute of Technology's Jonesboro.

The variant is immune-evasive due to the fact that it is actually a combination of mutations from other strains.

Another study by researchers at the Changping Laboratory and Peking University expressed that the XBB possessed the strongest ability to evade antibody protections among newly emerging variants.

As per experts, there are strong chances that monoclonal antibody treatments might not be that effective to fight newer variants such as the BA.2.75.2 and the XBB.

Director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research And Policy (CIDRAP), Michael Osterholm, expressed his concern by saying, “We’ve not seen this type of immune evasion before.”

What else to know about the new variants?

Among all the COVID variants in the U.S., BA.5 still holds the most dominant strain.

It made up around 79.2% of all the COVID cases reported from October 2 to October 11, as per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It seems like other variants are competing ruthlessly with the BA.5. Around 13.6% of cases were caused due to the BA.4.6 subvariant over the past week.

This demonstrated an escalation from 6.4% of cases recorded two months ago.

Not to miss, the subvariant BF.7 is also spreading drastically.

This drastic speed is clearly evident in the fact that two months ago, the mutant was responsible for only 0.3% of cases in the U.S., but it increased to 4.6% yesterday. 

To curb the havoc from spreading, the U.S. has given its approving nod to bivalent boosters targeting two sub-variants, the BA.4 and BA.5, on the last day of August.

However, only 7.6 million Americans did get their Omicron booster shots done since it became widely accessible on Labor Day.

It is sad to note that as per a survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation, two-thirds of the American population are either procrastinating their plans to get the new booster or claiming that they won't get it at all.