The ECDC warns of the discovery of BQ.1, a new sublineage of Ómicron
At the moment, it is already present in 5 countries of the European Union
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has launched a warning series: it has just been discover a new variant of Omicronwhich itself was a variant of the original SARS-CoV-2, and over the next few weeks an increase in COVID-19 cases may be experienced as in previous waves.
His official name is BQ.1and was detected for the first time during the first week of October in up to 5 countries of the European Union; the ECDC considers that is very likely to become the dominant variant of COVID-19 in the middle or end of November, or at the most, in early December.
andrea amondirector of the ECDC, asks that “countries should remain vigilant for signs of BQ emergence and spread.1 (…). They should continue to monitor Covid-19 case rates, especially in people 65 and older. Also severity indicators, such as hospitalizations, admissions and occupation of ICUs and deaths“.
It has been realized preliminary studies about BQ.1, and it has been concluded that this new variant is more effective in evading the immune response, both that generated by having passed the disease, and that obtained through vaccines; yes indeed, It does not seem that he has a more serious disease.