A soup of omicron subvariants could drive the next covid-19 wave
The subvariants BQ.1.1 and XBB may somewhat evade prior immunity, however, further research is required
Health
31 October 2022
The omicron subvariant BQ.1.1 has mutations that may help it to spread and evade existing immunity koto_feja/Getty Images
Despite winter approaching in the northern hemisphere and mixed vaccine availability worldwide, the number of reported covid-19 cases and deaths are declining globally. As of the week ending 23 October, reported cases were down 15 per cent on the previous seven days, while deaths declined 13 per cent.
Regardless of this dip, a soup of new coronavirus subvariants looks set to drive a wave of infections across continental Europe, the UK and the US this …