LOS ANGELES, Feb 21 — The highly transmissible Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 now accounts for over 80 per cent of new Covid-19 cases reported in the United States, according to the latest estimates of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
XBB.1.5 is estimated to account for 80.2 per cent of US Covid-19 cases in the week ending Feb 18, up from 73 per cent in the week prior, according to the CDC, reported Xinhua.
BQ.1.1 remains the second most prevalent strain at 12.1 per cent.
The CDC first started tracking XBB.1.5 in November last year, when it accounted for less than 1 per cent of cases nationwide. Since then, the strain is spreading quickly in the United States.
Early study suggests XBB.1.5 has a couple of concerning mutations that suggest it is even more contagious than other strains.
While XBB.1.5 is spreading easier, scientists said it does not seem to cause more severe disease.
— Bernama
