CDC is now ‘monitoring’ XBB Covid variant deemed ‘most vaccine resistant strain ever’

By James On Oct 21, 2022

US health chiefs are ‘checking’ a new Covid variant feared to be the ‘most vaccine-resistant yet’ after it accelerates cases in Singapore.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the strain — dubbed “XBB” — was still “very rare” in the US, with just 52 cases discovered in 15 states so far.

But in a variant update today, they confirmed they were “closely watching” after cases in Singapore doubled in a fortnight.

Health leaders are also following the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, which they said spread “relatively quickly” on U.S. soil.

They now account for one in five infections, double the amount a week ago.

XBB is another spin-off of the Omicron variant and is blamed for the sudden increase in infections in Singapore.

The alarm has been raised by experts including Dr. Raj Rajnarayanan of the New York Institute of Technology, who said it was the “most immune evasive yet.”

But there’s no evidence that it’s more likely to cause serious illness or death compared to its parent or sister strains — all of which have been shown to be mild for most.

On average, nearly three people die from Covid every day in Singapore, figures show.

While in the past there were only one or two dominant global variants, the virus now appears to have splintered into a swarm of closely related subvariants.

Last month, scientists were concerned about BA.2.75, which was launched in South Asia. In the US, there were concerns about strain BA.5, which is now dominant.

Shown above are the US states that picked up variant XBB, which is a merger of two Omicron sub-variants

The chart above shows the infection rate in Singapore per million people. It is now showing early signs of spikes after a spiral with the emergence of the XBB variant

It currently records three deaths from Covid per day. There is no evidence to date that XBB causes more serious illness or increases the risk of death from Covid

The chart above shows the share of cases in Singapore by variant. It reveals that XBB (red) is on the rise in the country

The above shows the share of variants in the United States for a week. Officials keep an eye on BQ.1 (light green) that is now behind one in ten infections

This map shows the variant ratios in the United States. BQ.1 is represented by light green while BQ.1.1 is darker green

XBB arrived in America on September 15, data shows, and has now been detected in 15 states.

Most cases are in New York with 22 infections to date and California where it has been discovered 10 times.

But it’s also registered in New Jersey, Washington, Hawaii, Michigan, Arizona, Arkansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia.

Pfizer charges Americans $130 per dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Future shots of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine could cost Americans up to $130 each.

The New York City-based company confirmed the price to DailyMail.com on Friday. It says it expects that the out-of-pocket costs for the insured will remain at zero.

The move comes as the nation moves away from the government-controlled distribution of the jabs to roll them out through the traditional US health care system.

This means that, as with a flu shot, Americans can get the shot from their primary care provider, although there may still be an out-of-pocket cost.

A transition in the distribution of the recordings could happen as early as early 2023, Pfizer said.

Demand for the injections has fallen sharply in the US in recent months – with Americans largely uninterested in receiving repeated booster shots.

Adoption of the shots crashed to such a point that Wall Street analysts told Reuters earlier this week that prices would have to triple to meet projected revenue targets.

The federal government may soon run out of COVID-19 vaccines as the White House has failed to convince Congress to approve $15 billion in pandemic spending.

Limited testing for Covid – currently at the lowest level since the start of the pandemic – and monitoring of variants means this is likely an undercount of the true extent of infections.

Revealing that it was monitoring XBB today, the CDC said: “CDC is also closely monitoring a subline called XBB based on international reports.

‘[But] it’s still very rare in the United States.”

In a separate variant, they added: ‘BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 are offshoots – grandchildren, if you will – of the BA.5 that has been dominant for months.

“CDC data shows that they seem to be spreading relatively quickly, but they still make up a small fraction of the common variants.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) also announced this week that it was monitoring the XBB variant.

XBB has accumulated mutations in its receptor binding domain, an important part of the spike protein where virus-fighting antibodies lodge and block infections.

Changes in this place make the virus less recognizable to the immune system of people who have been vaccinated or previously infected with Covid.

Singaporean scientists estimate that it is 30 percent milder than the previously dominant BA.5 Omicron strain.

‘XBB’ is formed from two variants, scientifically named BJ.1 and BA.2.75, which have been merged.

It was first discovered in India in August, authorities said, but has not sparked a wave so far.

Covid variants can fuse — in a process known scientifically as recombination — if they infect the same cell in the same person at the same time and then switch genes.

There have been several recombinant variants – such as ‘Delta-plus’ last year – but none have led to a major increase in infections.

Instead, most die out quickly because the fusion makes them less contagious than their rivals.

But XBB appears to be the most successful to date, behind 54 percent of infections in Singapore, up from 22 percent a week ago.

One possible cause for concern is that the number of reinfections in Singapore has risen dramatically since the arrival of XBB – from five to 17.5 percent of all cases.

It is not yet clear whether this is simply due to declining vaccine protection.

There are now early signs that this is starting to peak, but much earlier than expected in Singapore in mid-November.

dr. Rajnarayanan is counting cases of the XBB variant in the United States using data from GISAID, the top platform for variant monitoring.

He told DailyMail.com today: ‘XBB is the most immune-evasive variant yet…that’s why we’re concerned about it.

“XBB can pick up extra convergent mutations and get fitter.”

It comes as America struggles to boost its winter vaccination schedule despite warnings of another Covid wave.

The US is currently rolling out a bivalent vaccine for all individuals over 5 years of age, which is designed to protect against the Covid variants BA.5 and BA.5.

It’s unclear if it will also protect against XBB, though scientists say it will still help boost people’s immunity.

Only six percent of eligible people have applied so far, one month after the program started.

Last week, eligibility was expanded from over 12s to over 5s, with US health chiefs saying they should also get shots.

But the move goes against other countries that are quietly raising the age limit for their Covid shots, amid concerns about side effects such as heart inflammation and limited evidence that children benefit from it.