The UK has announced the emergence of two new COVID variants, designated BQ.1 and XBB. It is reported that 700 BQ.1 cases and 18 XBB cases have been detected in the country. Experts state that these variants have the ability to evade the vaccine.
The last serious variant of COVID emerged about a year ago and was named Omicron. Since then, almost 100 percent of COVID cases worldwide have emerged as Omicron.
Both of the newly discovered variants are based on Omicron. Although the number of cases is currently quite low, the high transmission ability of Omicron indicates that these new variants also have the opportunity to spread rapidly.
Omicron’s greatest talent was his ability to hide from the immune system. This shows itself as a high infection rate and resistance to vaccines. Moreover, it is stated that the variant has the possibility to mutate more.
The UK government is watching the situation carefully. Experts say that paying attention to the basic COVID precautions that have been known for a long time will prevent the spread of these new variants to some extent. Meera Chand, Director of Clinical and Emerging Infections at UKHSA, said in a published statement that “vaccination remains our best defense against future waves of COVID-19, so it is as important as ever for people to receive all appropriate doses as soon as possible.”
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