Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed on Friday that the fast-proliferating Omicron XBB.1.5 is predicted to account for about half of COVID-19 cases in the United States on course to become the predominant subvariant in the nation.

According to estimates, Omicron XBB.1.5 represented 49.1% of all COVID cases in the nation in the week ending January 21, up from 37.2% the week prior. The formerly dominant Omicron subvariants BQ.1.1 and BQ.1, which were offspring of BA.5, have been replaced by XBB.1.5. The CDC reported that the two strains together accounted for 40.2% of cases in the U.S. in the week ending January 21 as opposed to 48.8% a week before.

The subvariant is an offshoot of XBB, a subvariant of Omicron that combines two other subvariants and has been gaining ground quickly in the United States, especially in the northeast.

The director-general of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated earlier this month that XBB.1.5 has been detected in more than 25 countries and has been on the rise globally.

The CDC data further revealed that COVID-19 infections were on the decline each week after moving marginally higher in December and early January.

Although epidemiologists say the current booster doses will provide some protection against severe symptoms, hospitalization, and death, it is still unknown if XBB.1.5 can unleash a global outbreak of the diseases.

(Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/omicron-sub-variant-xbb15-accounts-nearly-half-us-covid-cases-cdc-2023-01-20/)