According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence of two omcron sub-variants resistant to important antibody therapies is increasing in the United States.
According to CDC statistics released on Friday, the subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 now account for 27 percent of infections in the United States, a significant increase from the previous week, when they accounted for about 16 percent of new cases. Omicron BA.5 is still the dominant strain, but it is losing ground on a weekly basis. The numbers show that it currently accounts for about 50% of infections in the United States, up from 60% the previous week. This week, President Joe Biden warned that people with weakened immune systems are especially vulnerable this winter, as antibody therapies don't work against recently discovered subvariants.
The National Institutes of Health states that there is resistance to Evusheld and bebtelovimab in Omicron BQ.1 and BQ.1.1.
People with moderately or severely weakened immune systems aged 12 years or older receive two injections of an antibody cocktail called evusheld to prevent covid-19. A monoclonal antibody called bebtelovimab is used to treat covid after an infection.
Biden advised people with weakened immune systems to talk to their doctors about proper safety measures. The United States is running out of alternatives to treat the vulnerable, according to Dr. Ashish Jha, leader of the White House Covid task force, as Congress has not provided additional funding for the country's response to Covid.
This week, Jha told reporters: “We had thought that over time, as the pandemic progressed, as our war against this virus progressed, we would expand our medicine cabinet. "Their medicine cabinet has been exhausted by a lack of funding from Congress, putting vulnerable people at risk."
It is unknown how well the new boosters defend against variations like Omicron BQ.1 and BQ.1.1.
Jha said that because these sub-variants are related to Omicron BA.5, included in the newer vaccines, the boosters should provide better protection than previous injections. Omicron boosters haven't worked much better than traditional injections against Omicron BA, according to two separate studies from Columbia and Harvard published this week. The studies, according to the Food and Drug Administration, were too small to draw firm conclusions.
According to the CDC-FDA-White House COVID-19 task force, first-generation vaccines did not match circulating variations as well as current vaccines. Based on what is known about the immunology and science of this virus, Jha told reporters in September: "It is reasonable to expect these new vaccines to provide better protection against infections, better protection against transmission and better protection against transmission ". and better protection against serious diseases ”. disease."
Jha urged all eligible Americans to get the flu shot and omicron booster before Halloween to be safe when families start getting together for the holidays.