WHO has classified the XBB.1.5 sublineage of the XBB Omicron subvariant as the “most transmissible” COVID strain.
A “wake-up call,” according to specialists, the fast spread of the XBB.1.5 Covid subvariant in other nations will drive the next wave of the virus in the United Kingdom.
According to the available data, the variation is already responsible for one in every 25 cases in the UK. Investigations reveal that it has evolved a degree of resistance to immunization.
PHAC has not yet commented on whether or not it views XBB 1.5 as a worrying variety. Authorities in British Columbia say they are keeping a close eye on the situation. Adrian Dix has advised residents to recommit to preventative measures, including using face masks, staying at home when ill, and washing their hands often.
This new strain of COVID originated from Omicron, a highly contagious strain that caused an outbreak in the United Kingdom this past winter. Numerous Omicron variants have appeared during the last 12 months. The XBB.1.5 strain developed from XBB, which included a mutation that allowed the virus to evade the host immune system.
In addition to this, The COVID travel ban is back. Dix strongly recommended that everybody who has not yet had a COVID-19 booster injection should get one.
It’s still too early to tell if it will start a new wave in the UK. Professor Francois Balloux, who heads the UCL Genetics Institute, has predicted a “widely expected jump up in frequency internationally” in cases. “The balance of likelihood is that XBB.1.5 will generate a wave here later this month, but we can’t be sure,” said Paul Hunter of the University of East Anglia in an interview with the BBC.
