What you need to know about the 'alarming' new XBB.1.5 COVID subvariant

Blue gloves holding Moderna COVID-19 vaccine booster and syringe
(Image credit: Scott Olson / Staff/Getty Images)

A new COVID-19 Omicron subvariant is causing concern among scientists monitoring the virus's spread and evolution, CNN reports. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID-19 variant dashboard revealed startling data concerning a variant with features that could encourage a surge of COVID cases in the U.S. — XBB.1.5.

Throughout December, the CDC estimates that XBB.1.5 has more than doubled its share of positive COVID cases every week, leading it to rise from 4 percent to 41 percent of new infections by the end of the month. XBB.1.5 is responsible for 75 percent of new cases in the Northeast, per the CDC. Virologists and epidemiologists predict that the features of this Omicron variant could drive a surge of positive cases in the U.S. However, according to CNN, it remains to be seen how extensive or severe that wave could be.

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Theara Coleman, The Week US

Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.