CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Two new COVID-19 subvariants are gaining traction in the U.S.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates two omicron subvariants, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, accounted for 11% of new cases this past week. Now, Virginia health officials are watching to see how the new strains will impact us.
“It really hit me. I had every single symptom and sign that you could possibly have. Now, I have a lingering cough that comes and goes," said Diane Gately, a nurse with the Chesapeake Health Department.
Gately said she’s now recovered, but she’s noticing more people coming to get the bivalent booster vaccine as soon as it became available.
“This morning, I did a 14-month-old," Gately said.
Doctors with the Virginia Department of Health said the new booster is the best way to provide some protection against BQ.1 and BQ.1.1.
But health officials also have some concerns if someone is not protected.
VDH Physician Specialist Doctor Brooke Rossheim said the preliminary data shows that BQ.1 and BQ. 1.1 have mutations that are better at evading immunity, whether from COVID-19 vaccines or prior infection to the virus.
He said the new subvariants may also be more transmissible and the antibodies someone may have might not be enough to fight these strains.
“For example, that can mean someone who is had COVID-19 previously and who has some degree of immunity, they maybe are able to get around that kind of immunity that person has," said Dr. Rossheim.
Dr. Rossheim said the state and the CDC are tracking these two new subvariants very closely.
Recent data from the CDC shows that only a small percentage of these subvariant cases are in our national health region. Officials with the VDH said as of now, there is no data showing cases of the two subvariants here in Virginia.
The Chesapeake Health Department nurses hold COVID-19 vaccine clinics every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. located at 748 Battlefield Boulevard.