(Washington Insider Magazine) – Unfortunately, there’s a new COVID update on the horizon. One question: Have you been feeling sick lately? It could be a result of the newly released XBB.1.5 Omicron variant.
Currently ravaging the United States and the United Kingdom, this strain of COVID-19 has been professionally designated as one of the most contagious yet. However, we do want to note – experts have stated that contagion doesn’t necessarily equal an inordinate amount of danger from what we know of the last COVID update.
COVID Update: News From The WHO
World Health Organization (WHO) specialists have found that the number of those sicked across the United States has been doubling approximately every two weeks, sickening people in all fifty states.
The transmissibility of the new COVID update variant is incomparable to anything that researchers have seen so far, likely due to the number of mutations that omicron has undergone in recent months. Researchers currently believe that the subvariant underwent such radical changes that the virus became more “normalized” to regular physical cells – attaching and evading white blood cells until the infection has overrun the immune system.
The new COVID update doesn’t just extend to the U.S., however. 25+ countries have reported illnesses associated with XBB.1.5 Omicron, showing promise that the variant could circulate around the globe before 2023 is over.
The unfortunate thing about the rapid circulation is the virus’s ability and potential to rapidly shift and adapt, making it a more virulent threat than many may have previously thought.
There are no current countermeasures or vaccines that have been indicated as effective for this specific strain of the COVID-19 virus, although many innovators and researchers do hope to change this in the coming months.
COVID Update: Vaccines And Countermeasures
One of the most important things that researchers must consider is appropriate countermeasures to take, as the new variant has a binding advantage and a growth advantage over other types of strains.
It is thought by many that this could be the strain causing mass hospitalizations in China, although the CPP medical staff have not been forthcoming about their experiences with the wave.
