New Omicron subvariant accounts for nearly half US new Covid infections
New Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is estimated to account for 49.1 percent of the Covid-19 cases in the United States for the week ending 21 Jan, according to data released Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The subvariant XBB.1.5 is spreading quickly in the United States. It made up 35.5 percent of the total cases in the week ending 7 Jan, rising to 37.2 percent in the week ending 14 Jan, according to the CDC.
XBB.1.5 is currently the most transmissible variant in the country. The subvariant may spur more Covid-19 cases based on genetic characteristics and early growth rate estimates, according to the World Health Organization.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Another two dominant Omicron subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 accounted for about 40 percent of new Covid-19 cases in the United States in the latest week, CDC data showed.
