It’s a new year. However, many parts of the world still aren’t completely out of the woods when it comes to COVID.
China, for instance, is having a particularly rough time as it wrestles with this virus.
The country implemented a “Zero COVID” policy during the onset of the pandemic; however, it’s been speculated that this policy stopped the Chinese from being able to gain natural immunity to the virus.
Things have gotten so precarious in China that multiple countries, including the United States, are imposing travel restrictions on folks coming from China.
Now, a new report by CNBC alleges that COVID’s omicron variant is becoming more and more of a problem.
The Latest on the Omicron Variant
Within the past week, the XBB.1.5 version of omicron appears to have taken on a life of its own. News indicates this particular variant is responsible for over 40% of new virus cases in America.
Furthermore, because XBB.1.5 can dodge immunity at a greater level than its past versions, the likelihood of people getting reinfected with COVID or suffering “breakthrough” infections is substantial.
Update on XBB.1.5 proclivity to evade vaccinated immunity. It also has a great affinity to ACE2, than previous Omicron variants. Concerning for more invasive potential among the fully compliant without prior natural infection. #courageousdiscourse https://t.co/eDddOLfbl6
— Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH™ (@P_McCulloughMD) December 31, 2022
Meanwhile, the COVID vaccines that were heralded as the tools to end the pandemic also will struggle to stand up against the XBB.1.5 variant. That’s according to different public health officials and others in the scientific community.
The general public should also be aware XBB.1.5 has a greater propensity to latch onto cells in the human body, unlike its previous versions.
Light at the End of the Tunnel?
Despite the infectious rates of the XBB.1.5 variant, it’s not projected to lead to as many hospitalizations and deaths as its former counterparts. This is good news, given the panic that’s existed over the years of people getting seriously ill or dying from COVID.
Though since this virus emerged, there were always speculations that it would mutate and spin off into different variants. It is for this reason that some people believe the total eradication of COVID is not possible.
One way to roughly evaluate the potential height of a wave is to look at the weekly increase in cases in the early days. It's not directly proportional but it will be related.
Omicron was a monster. pic.twitter.com/dFsINUYOQm
— JWeiland (@JPWeiland) December 31, 2022
Folks with this mindset have also pointed out the virus can simply readapt to various vaccines that exist on the market. Meanwhile, more and more people around the world have shown their readiness to move on from this virus and get back to their lives.
From the looks of things, XBB.1.5 is not going to have a debilitating impact on society, even if it is easier to spread and more capable of getting through COVID vaccines.
What do you think about the latest development concerning the newest variant of COVID’s omicron? Do you believe this is something for the general public to be seriously concerned about?
Please feel welcome to share your insight, predictions, and perspectives about this new variant in the comments section.
