BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 are among the more than 300 sublineages of the Omicron variant circulating globally, 95% of which are direct descendants of BA.5, according to the World Health Organization.
WILL THE UPDATED VACCINE BOOSTERS STILL WORK?
It is not yet clear how these new versions of the coronavirus will affect populations in the United States, where booster uptake has been slow and COVID mitigations such as masks and social distancing have largely been abandoned.
There is, however, early evidence from Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE) that their updated boosters, which target BA.5 and BA.4 as well as the original virus, increase levels of infection-fighting antibodies against Omicron subvariants in older adults.
A study of blood from three dozen adults showed the shot increased neutralizing antibodies against the BA.4/BA.5 Omicron subvariants by fourfold compared with the original shot after one month. read more
It is not yet clear whether that will translate into higher protection against the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 subvariants, but their close relationship to BA.5 may work in the booster's favor.
For people who received the omicron boosters, antibodies that block infection were 24 times lower against BQ.1, 41 times lower against BQ.1.1, 66 times lower against XBB and 85 times lower against XBB.1 compared to their performance against the ancestral strain that emerged in Wuhan, China, in 2019.
About 1.75 percent of more than 16,000 residents infected with COVID-19 reported no symptoms, according to the latest survey in the city of Ordos, North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The city's COVID-19 infection rate surpassed 60 percent, Ordos's health authorities said.
In the past few days, many other regions in China released their reports of survey on their residents’ health conditions. Southwest China's Sichuan Province also said that the province's infection rate is over 60 percent, while China’s southmost Hainan's expected infection rate reached 50 percent.
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