The national public health agency of the United States said on Friday that Omicron subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 were thought to be responsible for around 44.2% of COVID-19 cases throughout the nation for the week ending Nov. 12, up from 32.6% the week before.

The two variants, which Omicrons BA.5 sub-variant is closely connected, were the primary cause of COVID-19 instances in the United States earlier this year. However, the U.S. CDC reported that for the week ending November 12, BQ.1.1 was projected to account for almost 24.1% of circulating variations and BQ.1 for an estimated 20.1% of circulating instances.

Although there is no proof that the new varieties are more severe than BA.4 and BA.5, they have become more prevalent in locations like Europe, Singapore, and Canada, among others. The CDC estimates that the BA.5 substrates account for around 29.7% of cases in the United States, down from over 41.1% in the week ending November 5.

Observing the rising trend, regulators and vaccine makers are keeping a closer eye on the new variants in case they start to circumvent the protection provided by the current vaccines.

(Source: https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/covid-variants-bq-1/bq-1-1-make-up-44-of-u-s-cases-cdc/95465864)