ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

COVID subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 make up 35% of U.S. cases

Share
BENGALURU, India -

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday estimated that Omicron subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 accounted for about 35 per cent of coronavirus cases in the country in the week ending Nov.5 compared with 23.2 per cent in the previous week.

The subvariants made up nearly nine per cent of total cases in the week of Oct. 15 and their proportion has been rising steadily among circulating cases since then.

The two variants are descendants of Omicron's BA.5 subvariant and have been spreading rapidly in Europe. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has said they were likely to become the dominant variants shortly and drive up cases in the next few weeks and months.

There is no evidence yet that BQ.1 is linked with increased severity compared to the circulating Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, the European agency said, but warned it may evade some immune protection, citing laboratory studies in Asia.

New variants are monitored closely by regulators and vaccine manufacturers in case they start to evade protection offered by current shots.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday that Eli Lilly's experimental COVID drug, bebtelovimab, was not expected to neutralize these Omicron subvariants.

BQ.1.1 made up nearly 19 per cent of circulating variants and BQ.1 was estimated to make up 16.5% of circulating cases in the week of Nov. 5, the U.S. CDC said on Friday.

The figure for the previous week was updated from 27.1 per cent earlier.

The BA.5 subvariant, which drove up cases earlier this year, is estimated to make up about 39 per cent of cases, compared with nearly 51 per cent in the week ended Oct. 29.

Coronavirus cases saw a small uptick for the week ended Nov. 2, data from CDC showed. This comes after a gradual decline in reported cases from July highs.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.

The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

Stay Connected