The latest mutation of Omicron could increase COVID-19 cases in the UK but is unlikely to make us sicker, experts said.
The emergence of yet another strain of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is unlikely to pose an additional threat to health but could accelerate cases of COVID-19 in the UK, virologists think.
XBB.1.5 evolved from the XBB strain of Omicron. The first case involving XBB in England was detected from a specimen sample taken on 10 September 2022 and further cases have since been identified in most English regions.Experts agree that XBB.1.5, is likely to continue spreading globally. "This mutation makes it slightly less immune evasive than its XBB.
Sir Andrew Pollard, Ashall professor of infection and immunity at the University of Oxford, urged restraint so as "not to drive fear that each new variant heralds a new crisis in the pandemic". He said: "There is no reason to think that XBB.1.5 is of any more concern than other variants that come and go in the ever-changing landscape of COVID-19 mutants."covering the period between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve suggested that XBB.1.5 was responsible for 40.
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