Financial Associated Press, October 15 (Editor Bian Chun) As the United States moves towards winter, the country faces at least seven different versions of the Covid-19 Omicron variant. Health officials have warned that another wave of infections is likely.
Although the Omicron BA.5 variant still dominates the U.S., the share of novel variants is steadily rising and undermining BA.5’s dominance, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday. .
The Omicron BA.5 has spawned several new variants, including the BQ.1, BQ.1.1, and BF.7. In a report earlier this month, the UK Health Security Agency said the three variants showed growth advantages over BA.5, the most contagious yet.
In the United States, Omicron BA.5 now accounts for about 68% of all new infections, down from about 80% in early October. According to CDC data, BQ.1, BQ.1.1 and BF.7 accounted for about 17% of new infections.
BA.2.75 and BA.2.75.2, which accounted for about 3% of new infections, were derived from Omicron BA.2, a variant that caused a surge in cases during the spring.
Scientists at Peking University in China found that Omicron BA.2.75.2 and BQ.1.1 were best at evading immunity to previous BA.5 infection and several antibody drugs. The study, published in early October, has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, said earlier this week that U.S. health officials are closely monitoring the variants because they are adept at evading prior immunity.
“The reason we follow them is that they are either more immune-invasive or render many of our treatments ineffective,” Jha said. “Those are the two main things that caught our attention.”
But Jha said that against these new variants, the new Omicron booster, which the U.S. began rolling out last month, should provide better protection than the first-generation vaccine. The Booster targets BA.5, the new variants are Omicron and most are derived from BA.5.
Jha is calling on all eligible Americans to get a new booster shot by Halloween so they will be fully protected when families get together on Thanksgiving.
But the immune evasion of variants such as BA.2.75.2 and BQ.1.1 may mean that boosters targeting BA.5 do not provide broad enough protection, scientists at Peking University said.
Pfizer and BioNTech issued a statement on Thursday, disclosing early data from Phase II/III trials of the Omicron bivalent vaccine adjusted for the BA.4/BA.5 variant. The two companies stated that the serum sampled seven days after vaccination showed that the neutralizing antibody response of the subjects to Omicron BA.4/BA.5 was significantly improved compared with that before the vaccination, and the safety and tolerance were similar to the original vaccine. .
The U.S. government announced on Thursday (October 13) that it would extend the public health emergency for the new crown epidemic by 90 days, thereby continuing to retain measures such as high payments to hospitals and expansion of Medicaid.
Earlier, American infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci warned that a new and more dangerous new variant of the new coronavirus is likely to emerge in the United States this winter. He urged Americans not to let their guard down. “It is very likely that another new variant will emerge in the United States that escapes human immunity.”