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☆ Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 accounts for 43% of U.S. COVID cases - CDC
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 13 (Reuters) - The fast-spreading Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is estimated to account for 43% of the COVID-19 cases in the United States for the week ended Jan. 14, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed on Friday. The subvariant accounted for about 30% of cases in the first week of January, higher than the 27.6% the CDC estimated last week. The World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier this week XBB.1.5 may spur more COVID-19 cases based on genetic characteristics and early growth rate estimates. The rise in the new variant correlated with an uptick in COVID-19 cases in United States over the last six weeks. Increased prevalence of XBB.1.5 cases has eclipsed the previously dominant Omicron subvariant BQ.1.1 and BQ.1, which were offshoots of BA.5.

A key adviser to the Food and Drug Administration's vaccine panel is questioning whether more Covid booster shots are necessary for healthy, younger people. The FDA later backed the vaccine panel, authorizing a new formulation of the booster shots. “The people who are talking about why young people need it are missing the point,” he said, referring to the booster. Levy, the director of the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, continues to encourage Covid boosters for everyone who is eligible. Relatively few people in the U.S. have had updated boosters.

Shortness of breath, loss of taste and smell, and other lingering Covid symptoms tend to ease over time and may be gone within a year, according to new research. The study did not include patients who developed long Covid from omicron or its subvariants, but doctors in the U.S. say they do see new patients with long Covid symptoms following an omicron infection. Most common long Covid symptomsThree years into the pandemic, it remains unclear exactly how many people have long Covid. The findings are consistent with what long Covid experts in the U.S. have found. While the study found that many long Covid symptoms abate within a year, it remains clear that some patients continue to suffer long afterward.

☆ Omicron XBB.1.5 does not have mutations known to make people sicker, WHO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant does not have any mutations known to make people sicker when they catch the virus, according to a World Health Organization risk assessment published Wednesday. The WHO said XBB.1.5 is one of the Covid subvariants that is most adept at dodging immunity from vaccination or infection. It is just as immune evasive as another subvariant in its family, XBB.1, which was the Covid variant that best dodged antibodies that block infections. The global health organization said XBB.1.5 has a growth advantage in the U.S., particularly in the Northeast, where it has rapidly become dominant. The organization said it needs more data on how fast XBB.1.5 is spreading in other countries.

☆ Omicron XBB.1.5 is rising in U.S. though revised CDC data shows slower increase than previously reported
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

XBB.1.5 made up 27.6% of sequenced Covid cases nationally for the week ending Jan. 7 compared with 18.3% for the week end Dec. 31. The CDC previously reported that XBB.1.5 made up about 41% of sequenced cases for the week ending Dec. 31, more than any other variant. Although the agency has revised its estimate downward, XBB.1.5 remains the only omicron subvariant showing significant growth in the U.S. right now. U.S. health officials should have more data soon on how much protection the omicron boosters provide against XBB.1.5., Jha said. Weekly Covid cases have increased by about 16% to 470,699 over the past week, according to CDC data.

☆ India finds 11 Omicron subvariants of COVID-19 in international travellers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW DELHI, Jan 5 (Reuters) - India detected a total of 11 variants of COVID-19 in international travellers who arrived in the country during Dec. 24 to Jan. 3, health ministry sources said on Thursday. Of the 19,227 passengers who were tested for COVID-19 during the period, 124 were found positive, the sources said. (This story has been corrected to fix the headline and lede to clarify that all COVID-19 variants are not "new")Reporting by Sarita Chaganti Singh in New Delhi, writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; editing by Sudipto GangulyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant is the most transmissible version of Covid yet, WHO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant that's currently dominating the U.S. is the most contagious version of Covid-19 yet, but it doesn't appear to make people sicker, according to the World Health Organization. "It is the most transmissible subvariant that has been detected yet," Van Kerkhove told reporters during a press conference in Geneva on Wednesday. It has been detected in 29 countries so far but it could be even more widespread, Van Kerkhove said. The WHO's advisory group that tracks Covid variants is conducting a risk assessment on XBB.1.5 that it will publish in the coming days, she said. "The more this virus circulates the more opportunities it will have to change," Van Kerkhove said.

The subvariant of omicron, named XBB.1.5, has raised concerns about another potential wave of Covid cases following the busy holiday travel season. The CDC projected Friday that about 40% of confirmed U.S. Covid cases are caused by the XBB.1.5 strain, up from 20% a week ago. There’s no indication it causes more severe illness than any other omicron virus, Dr. Barbara Mahon, director of CDC’s Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division, told NBC News. The XBB.1.5 is a relative of the omicron XBB variant, which is a recombinant of the omicron BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 subvariants. Yet, only 37.5% of that age group has received the most recent omicron booster, according to the most recent CDC data.

☆ Risk of a dangerous new Covid variant in China is ‘quite low,’ U.S. health expert says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | Evelyn Cheng Is A Senior Correspondent With Cnbc. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, pointed out there were likely billions of omicron infections worldwide this year, but no new Covid variant has emerged, only subvariants of omicron. “That’s why I would put the risk as quite low that there is a dangerous new variant in China,” he said. The U.S., Japan and a few other countries this week subsequently announced new Covid testing requirements for travelers from China. China’s National Health Commission said Sunday it would stop releasing daily information on Covid infections and deaths. Covid testing is no longer mandatory in China.

☆ Highly immune evasive omicron XBB.1.5 variant is quickly becoming dominant in U.S. as it doubles weekly
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Covid omicron XBB.1.5 variant is rapidly becoming dominant in the U.S. because it is highly immune evasive and appears more effective at binding to cells than related subvariants, scientists say. It has since evolved into a family of subvariants including XBB.1 and XBB.1.5. The XBB subvariants are also resistant to Evusheld, an antibody cocktail that many people with weak immune systems rely on for protection against Covid infection because they don't mount a strong response to the vaccines. The scientists described the resistance of the XBB subvariants to antibodies from vaccination and infection as "alarming." The XBB subvariants were even more effective at dodging protection from the omicron boosters than the BQ subvariants, which are also highly immune evasive, the scientists found.

Although many public health experts are expressing concern about the rising COVID cases in China, infectious disease experts have been increasingly worried about the XBB.1.5 variant. Recombinants of the BA.2 variant, XBB and XBB.1.5, together accounted for 44.1% of the total cases in the country for the week ended Dec. 31. For the week ended Dec.24, XBB.1.5 had made up 21.7% of the total cases. The XBB variant has been driving up cases in parts of Asia, including Singapore. It accounted for 3.6% of the total cases in the U.S. this week compared with 4.2% in the previous week.

☆ Risk of a dangerous new Covid variant in China is 'quite low,' U.S. health expert says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — It's unlikely that a dangerous new Covid-19 variant is spreading in China, said Dr. Chris Murray, Seattle-based director of a health research center at the University of Washington. His comments Friday on CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" come as U.S. health officials warned this week about the chance of a new Covid variant emerging in China's nationwide outbreak — and how Beijing's lack of transparency could delay detection of public health risks. Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, pointed out there were likely billions of omicron infections worldwide this year, but no new Covid variant has emerged, only subvariants of omicron. "That's why I would put the risk as quite low that there is a dangerous new variant in China," he said. Omicron is far more transmissible, but causes less severe disease, than when Covid first emerged in Wuhan, China, in late 2019.

Around 67% of people who took the experimental pill, called VV116, reported side effects, compared to to 77% who took Paxlovid. In the trial of VV116, more than 380 people took the experimental drug, while a similarly sized group took Paxlovid. The median time to recovery — defined as no Covid symptoms for two consecutive days — was four days for VV116 recipients and five days for those who took Paxlovid. Three-quarters of the trial participants were vaccinated, though the study found consistent results regardless of vaccine status. The National Institutes of Health recommends Paxlovid, with molnupiravir as an alternative in situations when neither Paxlovid nor remdesivir is available or appropriate.

☆ Fosun app lets China users get BioNTech COVID vaccines in Hong Kong
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The BioNTech logo is seen at the booth of Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) at the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, China September 3, 2021. REUTERS/Florence LoHONG KONG, Dec 27 (Reuters) - China's Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group (600196.SS) said users of its mobile health app in China can now register to take COVID-19 booster shots in Hong Kong using BioNTech's (22UAy.DE) vaccine. BioNTech and its partner for China - Fosun - were granted approval for their COVID-19 vaccine that is adapted for the BA.4 and the BA.5 subvariants of Omicron for people aged 12 and older in Hong Kong, the German company said on Dec. 23. The vaccine is the first and currently only variant-adapted vaccine available as a booster dose for individuals 12 years and older that has been granted approval in Hong Kong, BioNTech said at the time. A shipment of BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines meant for German nationals in China arrived at the German embassy in Beijing last week as cases in China soared after policymakers dropped nearly all of previous epidemic control protocols.

☆ BioNTech ships COVID shots to China for use by Germans
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BioNTech said it is working with Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (600196.SS) to deliver the shots to greater China, with availability expected in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenyang and Chengdu. China would need to approve expanding access beyond the about 20,000 German nationals, the source said on Wednesday. "Most of Chinese here got the BioNTech vaccine, the vaccine that was first available. SinoVac vaccine was not available in Europe," a first-generation Chinese expatriate who has lived in Europe for more than a decade told Reuters. The expatriate, who asked to remain anonymous to protect their family in China, said that the government there might only make BioNTech shots available to Chinese nationals if it came to the worst-case scenario.

☆ Covid, flu and RSV: What science shows about being contagious
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Benjamin Ryan | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

People know when they have Covid symptoms, but do minor sniffles at the end of a coronavirus infection, for example, mean they’re still contagious? It’s a good time to brush up on what scientists know, and still don’t know, about how long people remain infectious with viral diseases — Covid, influenza, RSV — that are spreading across the U.S.How long am I contagious with Covid? If you’ve been exposed to someone who has tested positive for Covid, symptoms from any of the omicron subvariants generally appear two to four days later. How contagious you are is connected to how much of the virus, known as the viral load, is in your body. As far as relying on Covid tests to determine whether someone is still contagious, PCR tests are good at diagnosing Covid.

☆ New York and L.A. meet CDC criteria for masking in public. How much will masks help this winter?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Aria-Bendix-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Aria Bendix | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The Philadelphia school district announced Wednesday that students and staff will be required to wear masks indoors for two weeks in January in an effort to slow transmission after the holidays. The New York City Department of Education issued a letter this week strongly encouraging students and staff to wear a well-fitting mask indoors. After three years of Covid, however, experts recognized that few people are inclined to wear masks as often as they had previously while in public spaces. But Luby said he still wears a mask in public, even when others around him do not. “I find myself in that situation a lot — I’m the only person in the room wearing a mask," he said.

The updated Covid booster shot is proving to be effective at keeping people — especially older adults — out of the hospital, according to two new studies published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Full coverage of the Covid-19 pandemicBoth studies looked at the impact the updated Covid booster shot has had since it was first recommended by the CDC on Sept. 1. Those who had received the updated booster were 84% less likely to be hospitalized with Covid, compared with people who had never had the Covid vaccine. The effectiveness was nearly identical — 83% — for people who had their last Covid shot more than a year ago. "There are 28 million people over the age of 65 that are eligible for this updated booster shot but haven’t gotten it," Link-Gelles said.

☆ U.S. FDA advisers to weigh on updating initial COVID vaccine doses
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Friday it planned to hold a meeting of outside experts next month to discuss whether initial doses of COVID-19 vaccines need to be updated to combat circulating variants. While updated booster doses from Pfizer (PFE.N) and Moderna (MRNA.O) are already approved for adults as well as children as young as five years, the FDA said it was important to weigh in on the composition of both initial and booster doses as new variants spread. The independent advisers, who are scheduled to meet on Jan. 26, are also expected to weigh in on whether the timing or composition of booster doses need to be adjusted. In June, advisers to the FDA had recommended a change in the composition of COVID-19 booster shots before fall to combat more recently circulating variants of the coronavirus. Reporting by Bhanvi Satija and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Omicron BQ, XBB subvariants are a serious threat to boosters and knock out antibody treatments, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The omicron subvariants that have become dominant in recent months present a serious threat to the effectiveness of the new boosters, render antibody treatments ineffective and could cause a surge of breakthrough infections, according to a new study. The BQ.1, BQ.1.1, XBB and XBB.1 omicron subvariants are the most immune evasive variants of Covid-19 to date, according to scientists affiliated with Columbia University and the University of Michigan. The immune response of people who were vaccinated and had breakthrough infections with prior omicron variants was also weaker against the subvariants. For people who received the omicron boosters, antibodies that block infection were 24 times lower against BQ.1, 41 times lower against BQ.1.1, 66 times lower against XBB and 85 times lower against XBB.1 compared to their performance against the ancestral strain that emerged in Wuhan, China in 2019. BQ.1.1 and BQ.1 represent 37% and 31% of new infections respectively, while XBB is causing 4.7% of new infections, according to CDC data.

☆ Covid and flu hospitalizations increase as holidays approach, while RSV retreats in some states
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Covid and flu hospitalizations are increasing, while respiratory syncytial virus appears to be retreating in some states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday. As millions of people prepare to travel and gather for the holidays, public health officials are concerned that the worst is still ahead. Hospitals this winter are facing the simultaneous threat of Covid, flu and RSV for the first time. Circulation of flu and RSV was very low during the pandemic due to widespread masking and social distancing implemented in response to Covid. Public health officials have said many people are probably more vulnerable to flu and RSV this year because they weren't infected the past two years, which means their immunity is lower.

☆ Omicron subvariants that more easily dodge immunity are causing more than 70% of U.S. infections
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The most immune evasive omicron subvariants yet are now causing more than 70% of new infections in the U.S., as millions of Americans prepare to travel and gather with family for the holidays later this month. Scientists, in several independent studies, have described the BQ and XBB subvariants as more adept at evading immunity from vaccination and infection than prior versions of the virus. They pose a significant threat to people with compromised immune systems because key antibody treatments are resistant to them. The Food and Drug Administration last week pulled bebtelovimab, a monoclonal antibody used to prevent people who catch Covid from developing severe illness. Many people with weak immune systems, such as organ transplant patients, cannot take Paxlovid with their other medications.

☆ FDA authorizes Covid omicron vaccines for children as young as 6 months old
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Shannon StapletonThe Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized updated Covid shots that target the omicron variant for children as young as 6 months old. The eligibility rules vary depending on whether children received Moderna's or Pfizer's original vaccines as their primary series. The new shots target the omicron BA.5 subvariant and the original Covid strain. U.S. health officials expect the new shots to provide superior protection compared to the original vaccines, which only target the original Covid strain. The FDA authorized the shots based on adult immune response data for similar vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna that target the original omicron BA.1 variant.

☆ Pfizer/BioNTech seek FDA authorization for updated Covid-19 vaccine for youngest kids
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Pfizer and BioNTech have submitted an application to the US Food and Drug Administration for their updated Covid-19 vaccine to be used as the third shot in the three-dose primary vaccine series for children ages 6 months through 4 years. The vaccine makers announced on Monday that if authorized for emergency use, children in that age group will still receive the original version of the Covid-19 vaccine as their first two doses and then the updated Covid-19 vaccine – formulated to target the coronavirus Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 – as the third dose. While the primary Covid-19 vaccine series for older children and adults involves receiving two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, a three-dose primary series has been the approach for children younger than 5. “With the high level of respiratory illnesses currently circulating among children under 5 years of age, updated COVID-19 vaccines may help prevent severe illness and hospitalization,” according to the companies’ announcement on Monday morning. There is no vaccine for RSV, but health officials have urged people to get their flu shots and updated Covid-19 boosters heading into winter.

But doctors often recommended the monoclonal antibody for people taking certain immunosuppressive medications, such as cancer patients or transplant recipients, since Paxlovid can interact negatively with several of those drugs. Casadevall said convalescent plasma is an effective alternative to monoclonal antibodies, but it's more complicated to administer and oversee. Pharma companies haven't given up on the promise of new monoclonal antibody drugs, however. A spokesperson for Eli Lilly said the company is searching for and evaluating monoclonal antibody candidates. Casadevall said new monoclonal antibody drugs are still worth pursuing, since they have proven safe and effective against Covid.

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