Subvariants of Omicron have been detected in Arizona fueling a growing number of COVID-19 cases in Europe and Western Asia, paving the way for a further backlog of cases here.
Public fitness officials and medical providers interviewed through The Arizona Republic say the most productive way for Arizonans to avoid serious illness caused by emerging strains is for those who are eligible for the COVID-19 booster Updated: An updated bivalent retreat. With protections contrary to the subvariants of the Omicron variant that is available to other people five years and older.
While the bivalent recall is expected to provide some coverage compared to the omicron subvariants in circulation, acceptance of the recall to date has been low. Only 4. 8 percent of all Arizonans had won the bivalent recall as of Oct. 12, according to data from the Arizona Department of Health. Arizona’s adoption rate is close to the national rate, which was 5. 8% on Wednesday.
The main subvariants increasing the number of cases in other parts of the world are BQ. 1. 1, BQ. 1 and XBB, and all three were detected by scientists at Arizona State University, showing a pattern of positive COVID-19 test results. .
Only one case of XBB was found, and a low number of BQ. 1. 1 and BQ. 1 was detected here, ASU virologist Efrem Lim said.
BQ. 1. 1 and BQ. 1 accounted for approximately 16. 6% of cases in the U. S. U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday, according to data from the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the U. S. , although grades vary by region. New York and New Jersey have above-average grades, while the region that includes Arizona and California is below the national average.
Emerging subvariants prove effective in evading immunity, allowing them to multiply and spread.
“These are all descendants of omicron and are based on the original ominon backbone. . . So, essentially, we’re still dealing with omicron,” said David Engelthaler, who heads the infectious disease department at the Arizona-based Translational Genomics Research Institute.
“This is precisely what we expected. We’ll continue to see strains that escape antibodies appear larger because that’s what will spread from user to user. “
At this time, it’s unclear whether BQ. 1. 1, BQ. 1 or XBB cause more severe illness than other versions of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, Lim said, though one challenge is that emerging subvariants could be resistant to certain COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatments, adding bebtelovimab and Evusheld.
“My biggest fear is still the maximum threat from other people and that’s where we continue to focus, making sure they remain at maximum immunity,” Engelthaler said.
BQ. 1. 1 and BQ. 1 are expected to be more prevalent in the U. S. The U. S. economy will be in the coming weeks, as they have already done in parts of Europe, adding Germany and the U. K. , Lim said. Last week, ASU scientists saw an increase in BQ. 1. 1 instances they sequenced.
“One thing we do know is that our immunity decreases over time, and that’s why it’s vital to have the up-to-date booster vaccine,” Lim said.
It’s not just the 3 subvariants of omicron that are circulating. Last week, World Health Organization officials said they trace more than 300 sublineages of the omicron variant and no subvariant is dominant.
“All omicron subvariants have increased transmissibility and immune evasion properties,” WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said at a press conference on Oct. 19.
“Countries want to be able to carry out surveillance to deal with the backlog of cases and perhaps deal with the backlog of hospitalizations. We are not yet seeing a change in severity and our vaccines are still effective, but we will have to remain vigilant.
Here are answers to seven not unusual questions about emerging omicron subvariants in Arizona:
COVID-19 Update: Arizona Adds 5,438 New Cases and Deaths
Maximum recent knowledge from the Arizona Department of Health Services suggests that COVID-19 cases are emerging in Arizona. More and more COVID-19 tests are coming back positive and cases have also increased, the number of cases is still well below winter figures.
A decline in normal reporting of COVID-19 data, coupled with a backlog of at-home COVID-19 testing that is not reported to public fitness authorities, means government statistics on COVID-19 trends may not reflect what is happening.
But there are a few more anecdotal indications that cases are starting to rise in Arizona and that the upcoming holiday season may usher in a COVID-19 surge, though the severity of a winter surge is unclear.
Chandler’s circle of family doctor Dr. Andrew Carroll detected an increase in the number of patients testing positive for COVID-19 in early October.
“Throughout the week, I had several positive cases of COVID-19,” Carroll said Friday. Many other people are other people who have traveled recently. “
One of Carroll’s patients, who had been immunized against COVID-19, recently tested positive and is hospitalized in intensive care, he said. None of his other patients who recently tested positive were hospitalized.
Patients who test positive and haven’t received a COVID-19 vaccine or booster since 2021 get sicker than other people who have received one or more COVID-19 vaccines this year, he said.
Dr. Farshad Fani Marvasti, a Phoenix physician and director of public fitness, prevention and fitness promotion at the University of Arizona-Phoenix College of Medicine, said he recently tested positive for COVID-19, as did his wife and father. The last time all three won a COVID-19 vaccine booster in May, a momentary boost for all of them, Marvasti said.
Marvasti’s father was recently hospitalized with COVID-19, but is expected to recover. Marvasti and his wife had milder cases, he said.
“Right now we didn’t think it was a priority to get the bivalent, but here we are with COVID,” said Marvasti, who goes through Dr. Shad. “As for time, I think it’s time to get it. “because we’re already starting to see the bright side in Europe and parts of the US. U. S. It’s still very light. “
During the first two holiday seasons with COVID-19, cases in Arizona began to rise a little after Thanksgiving when a family and friends gather indoors and many others travel, giving the virus more opportunities to spread.
“If you keep an eye on Europe and if the numbers continue to rise there and you see a significant increase, it’s almost inevitable that we’ll have the same thing here,” Marvasti said.
The hope is that even if the number of hospitalizations increases, he said.
“Basically, it’s betting on the fact that we have some residual immunity and the new subvariants that are different from the original,” he said.
#COVID19 resumes here in #Arizona. #GetVacunízate #Usa a mask Don’t count on case rates. The only way to know that Covid is spreading is to pay attention to those around you and ask the frontline doctors. And getting a flu shot while you’re doing it again.
The nickname “nightmare” is exaggerated, some scientists say. The so-called “nightmare variant” that has been making headlines recently is the XBB omicron subvariant and there is enough evidence to call it a nightmare, Lim said.
It would possibly be more benign than BQ. 1. 1 and BQ. 1, he said.
XBB is a recombinant subvariant, meaning it is a mixture of two other strains of the COVID-19 virus. Both are similar to omicron. Remixing is a natural component of what viruses do, he said. XBB spread to Singapore, where it is now the most common subvariant.
“At this point, I call it a game-changer,” Lim said of XBB. “I would say BQ. 1. 1 and BQ. 1 are a little more important than XBB. “
XBB appears to spread in communities where vaccination levels and past ailments are high, but this replaces the course of the disease, Engelthaler said.
“We don’t see a building in gravity. In fact, I don’t see it as a nightmare. I see it as what we expect,” he said.
The subvariant omicron BA. 5 is lately dominant in Arizona and the United States.
The subvariants and their names can be confusing, but Lim says they’re worth thinking of as a tree circle of relatives. Omicron is the father, BA. 4 and BA. 5 are the youngsters and the emerging subvariants, adding XBB, BQ. 1. 1 and BQ. 1 are all like omicron’s grandchildren, Lim explained.
“They are still linked,” he said. It’s just one component of the evolution of the virus. “
Rapid at-home antigen tests will continue to be effective on omicron subvariants, Lim said.
Although all versions of the COVID-19 virus circulating lately are connected to omicron, it is still imaginable that a new variant will appear.
“We see nothing but the spread of omicron and omicron subvariants, so chances are that anything that comes out will still have that omicron backbone,” Engelthaler said.
“However, we continue to be surprised by this virus. Omicron came here out of nowhere. . . We will have to continue to collect as much data as we can about this virus. We will have to continue to be serial and not let our guard down. “down because even if the emergency has really passed, the virus is still there. “
The CDC recommends that Americans over the age of five get an updated bivalent booster if it has been at least two months since their last dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, either one of the initial booster doses or the last. Dose of a number one vaccine. series of two doses.
All COVID-19 recalls are now the updated bivalent version, which is designed to protect against decreased immunity and the BA. 4 and BA. 5 lines of the omicron variant and to prevent COVID-19-related hospitalization.
It is also that other people who have won more than one original withdrawal (monovalent) get the updated (bivalent) withdrawal.
If you recently had COVID-19, you may need to delay your next dose of vaccine (either a number one dose or a booster) until 3 months from the onset of symptoms or, if you had no symptoms, when you first tested positive, CDC officials say.
While reinfection is less likely in the weeks or months following infection, certain factors, such as the private threat of serious illness, may be reasons to get vaccinated as soon as possible, according to health officials.
The Arizona Department of Health Services has a way to locate vaccines: https://www. azdhs. gov/covid19/vaccines/index. php#find-vaccines
The Arizona County Health Department has information on where to get vaccinated, as do pharmacies, adding CVS and Walgreens.
Public Health: Children Ages Five to 11 Older Now Can Receive New COVID Booster
It may not protect you from infection, but it is hoped to help prevent serious illness and death.
The bivalent vaccine not only provides ions opposite to the original SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, but also an update with parts opposing the omicron subvariants BA. 4 and BA. 5.
“We haven’t yet found enough information to determine how well bivalent vaccines will provide coverage compared to those subvariants,” Engelthaler said. The highest point of immunity, basically because we need to decrease the threat of a serious end result in those people. “
The emerging subvariants don’t fit precisely into the micron, but they are close enough for the bivalent vaccine to provide some protection, Lim said.
“The omicron strains included in this recall continue to circulate based on our data,” said Carla Berg, deputy director of public fitness for the Arizona Department of Health Services. “Could there still be unpredictability in those variants? Absolutely, and this continues to be monitored. “
“There’s no better time than now” for other eligible people to get the updated bivalent vaccine, Berg said.
White House COVID-19 control and treatment coordinator Dr. Thomas Tsai tweeted on Oct. 17 that two undeniable messages will save you from hospitalization and “may save your life” this winter: “Update your COVID-19 vaccine. If your check is positive for COVID, don’t wait, call your doc, NP or PA. Being treated can keep you from getting sick.
Arizona’s federal, state and county fitness departments proposed that anyone who qualifies get a bivalent COVID-19 booster and flu shot to protect against the disease in the coming months. And it is possible to receive either at the same time.
“The CDC reports that flu season is starting a little earlier this year, so other people who have respiratory symptoms, not everything will be COVID,” Lim said. “Some of them will also get the flu. “
Since COVID-19 and the flu are caused by two other viruses, it’s imaginable to ignite with either at the same time, Lim said.
The state’s recent flu peak report for the week ending Oct. 15 indicates that 133 flu cases have been reported in Arizona, making this flu season particularly higher than last year’s when 38 flu cases were reported. The cases make up a small proportion of the actual number of flu cases, according to state officials.
RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) cases are also in this season, according to state fitness officials. And bloodless viruses are also circulating.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of those respiratory viruses have been circulating in degrees well below what we had observed in the past. However, it looks like those seasonal respiratory viruses are recovering this year,” Dr. Eugene Livar, deputy director of public fitness preparedness at the state department of fitness, wrote in a recent blog post.
The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months and older get a flu shot as soon as possible. There’s new advice for others 65 and older to get a flu shot at higher doses, providing even stronger protection, Livar wrote.
“If we have hospitals under pressure this year, it’s going to be a mix of the flu and COVID,” said Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association. this year. . . We’ve had two straight years of mild flu. “
In addition to getting vaccinated, Marvasti said it’s also vital to stay healthy and take flu and COVID-19 precautions, such as washing your hands, putting on masks, getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, eating right and exercising.
“We want to take a multidimensional approach,” he said.
Bivalent retirement adoption is low across the country, not just Arizona. . 12, is still below the national average.
The updated reinforcements are new. They were approved by the CDC for adults on Sept. 1 and, more recently, for children five and older, so it’s likely due in part to a scheduling problem.
Also, some other people don’t get the updated booster because of a recent infection or because they got vaccinated or gained a booster less than two months ago.
“COVID fatigue” and a lack of awareness and education about the updated recall could also be at play, Berg said.
“We still have an uphill war to make sure that other people are aware that those bivalent boosters are available, accessible, that it’s the right time to get them, that they can get them with the flu vaccine,” Berg said.
Berg said it’s vital that public fitness officials continue the percentage of progress with COVID-19 vaccines and how vaccines have reduced COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths.
“We remain committed to our county fitness facilities and network components to succeed in Americans where they are for this vaccination,” Berg said. “Our bivalent reinforcement is a vital component in preparing for what lies ahead in the coming months. “
This is very smart news. The wave XBB variant in Singapore is in descensohttps://t. co/mZS5FePzrNXBB and BQ. 1. 1 are 2 of the maximum immunoevasive variants and Singapore the first country to revel in a wave induced through one of them, now abandoning pic. twitter . com/DbkSC4OPN7
Republic journalist Melina Walling contributed to this report.
Contact the journalist at Stephanie. Innes@gannett. com or 602-444-8369. Follow her on Twitter@stephanieinnes
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