New Omicron variants being closely monitored in Alberta

New subspecies of omicron are spreading rapidly in some parts of the world, raising questions about how well we are protected from them.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday it estimated that Omicron subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 accounted for about 35% of COVID-19 cases in the United States during the week of Oct. 31. . cents of the previous week.

These two subspecies are descendants of the BA.5 subvariant of Omicron and are also spreading rapidly in Europe.

“Europe, the US and the UK are beginning to see the spread of BQ.1 variants,” said Dan Gregson, Ph.D., a Calgary-based infectious disease physician and associate professor at the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine. I’m here.

The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention has said that the subspecies is likely to become the dominant subspecies by the beginning of the new year, suggesting that the increased growth rate of BQ.1 could be driven primarily by immune escape. It says high.

According to Gregson, it’s time to see if the spread of the BQ variant has more serious consequences.

“It’s hard to say whether it will lead to more hospitalizations or more deaths. It really depends on how effective it is against new variants,” he said.

The Alberta Health Service confirmed Sunday that BQ1.1 was seen in “small amounts” across Alberta and Canada.

“There is no evidence that this strain causes more serious disease than other Omicron strains,” Alberta Health’s Chris Bourdeau said in a statement.

The Ontario Department of Public Health released a report at the end of October showing the rapid growth rate of BQ variants and raising concerns about the risk of increased transmissibility and reduced vaccine efficacy.

Gregson says very little is known yet to predict how effective current bivalent vaccines will be. He said vaccination is important because it reduces the risk of hospitalization, even if you have had previous infections.

“If you want your child to have a safe winter season with as little chance of missing school or sports as possible, you will want to get them vaccinated against both COVID-19 and the flu.” said Gregson.

Pediatrician Dr. Sam Wong says there has been much publicity about getting teenagers vaccinated against COVID in Alberta since the bivalent vaccine became available for everyone over the age of 12 in October. He said he was disappointed that it had not been done.

“I don’t know why they didn’t push it the way they should,” Dr. Wong said. “I think they can do a better job promoting it and making it more known that this is an effective vaccine and that people should get it.

“I think there is more that we as health workers can do, but there is certainly more that government and public health can do. This vaccine is safe and effective against a serious disease.”

Gregson and Wong say masks are still a valuable tool in preventing the spread of the virus.

“Masking is a tool to reduce transmission and ease the burden on parents, such as the health care system, who has to stay home with and care for a sick child,” Gregson said. .

“As the weather gets cooler, we spend more time indoors with more people, and we don’t quarantine or wear masks, the virus will increase,” Wong said.

On average, 95% of positive cases are of the Omicron BA.5 strain, according to AHS, according to the latest data. The rest are a mix of Omicron BA.2 strains and his Omicron BA.4 strains.

“There are several strains that are being closely monitored to improve their growth potential, specifically BQ.1.1, which has seen increases in Europe and the US, and XBB, which is increasing in Singapore.” , read a statement from AHS on Sunday.

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