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Omicron BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 – an expert answers three key questions about these new COVID variants [1]

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Date: 2022-11-15  

Three interesting articles from “The Conversation”.

XBB and BQ.1: what we know about these two omicron ‘cousins’

Published: November 11, 2022 11.40am EST

theconversation.com/…

Should we be worried about XBB? By these metrics, XBB is potentially more immune evasive than BQ.1 and its parent BA.5, and might have a growth advantage which could increase virus spread. The good news is that based on Singaporean data, XBB has been estimated to have a 30% lower risk of hospitalisation compared with BA.5. But we don’t yet have data to support this from other countries, so this might change as XBB becomes more widespread.

Omicron BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 – an expert answers three key questions about these new COVID variants

Published: October 31, 2022 5.55am EDT

theconversation.com/…

Although the current COVID vaccines and previous infections provide good protection against severe disease, they do not provide full protection from infection or reinfection. Likewise, while they reduce COVID transmission, they do not prevent it entirely. And these new variants appear to have the highest capacity for immune evasion yet. That said, COVID vaccines will continue to offer strong protection against severe disease and death.

What are the symptoms of omicron?

Published: January 11, 2022 6.41am EST

Note that the following article is nearly a year old...

For example, anosmia (loss of smell or taste) was in the top ten in October but has fallen to 17th place. What was once a key indicator of COVID is now only seen in around one in five people testing positive. And according to our data, less than a third of people (29%) will ever experience a fever, which is also far less common than we’ve seen in the past. Importantly, we found that only half of people with COVID had any of the classic three symptoms of fever, cough or loss of sense of smell, suggesting that the government’s guidance for PCR testing (which suggests that you should get a test if you have one of these three symptoms) is woefully outdated.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/11/15/2136466/-Omicron-BQ-1-and-BQ-1-1-an-expert-answers-three-key-questions-about-these-new-COVID-variants

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