英國華威大學(University of Warwick)教授兼病毒學家Lawrence Young向《每日郵報》稱，XBB.1.5傳染力高，令紐約的住院個案增加，特別是長者，他認為XBB.1.5有可能增加英國醫療系統負擔。他又指出，免疫力減弱、冬天多室內聚會，以及缺乏防疫措施，例如戴口罩，都可能是導致美國個案增加的原因。
Is XBB.1.5 more easily spread than other variants?
Concern about XBB.1.5 is largely based on how it is spreading in the United States, where it now accounts for around 40 per cent of Covid cases in the country, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Prof Young said the new variant is “significant” because it is “spreading so rapidly”, with the number of Covid cases caused by XBB.1.5 more than doubling in a week in the US towards the end of December, leading scientists to be “very concerned”.
He noted there is “waning immunity” among the US population, with only 15 per cent of those eligible having received updated boosters, which is contributing to the variant being able to spread more rapidly.
A mutation named F486P is also thought to be helping the variant to spread easily. The mutation was highlighted on Twitter by Jesse Bloom, a computational virologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in the US, who also said in an email to CNN that it is “clearly letting XBB.1.5 spread better”.
The mutation reduces the antibodies’ ability to neutralise Covid and allows the XBB.1.5 variant to spread.
Prof Young also highlighted this, as he said that XBB.1.5 is “more able to escape the protections of previous vaccinations and past infections” and that it is “very, very infectious” due to a “particular mutation that has arisen within this variant”.
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