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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

By Carissa Wong

31 October 2022

The omicron sub-variant BQ.1.1 has mutations that may help it to spread and perhaps evade past immunity

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 …

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