New Omicron BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 subvariants accounted for more than 60% of new COVID-19 cases in the United States over the past week, according to estimates released Friday by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Disease. Disease Prevention (CDC).
They thus show that BQ.1.1 represented approximately 31.9% of the variants in circulation this week and BQ.1 30.9%.
Both of these strains are descendants of Omicron’s BA.5 subvariant. They replaced the BA.5 to become dominant in the United States. BA.5 still accounted for 13.8% of new infections over the past week, according to the CDC.
The CDC is also tracking another concerning new subvariant known as XBB, which has risen to account for about 5.5% of new infections nationwide.
According to the World Health Organization, XBB does not appear to be more severe than other Omicron subvariants, but early data indicates that it has a higher risk of reinfection than them.