"Before the end of November": This variant triggers the current corona wave

Created: 10/10/2022, 8:19 p.m

By: Nadja Zinsmeister

A biotechnical assistant prepares PCR tests for analysis.

(Symbolic photo) © Julian Stratenschulte/dpa/Symbolbild

Corona is trying to bypass our immune system with new variants.

This now seems to have been successful, especially with the BQ.1.1 variant.

Experts are worried.

Munich – As experts have already predicted, the number of corona cases in Germany has been increasing rapidly since the onset of autumn.

So far, the Omikron variant BA.5 has been the main driver of the new Corona wave.

Now the suspicion is rising that primarily or additionally a new subvariant could cause the infection curve to rise: BQ.1.1.

Corona subvariant BQ.1.1 on the way: Experts expect a new wave

The corona virus has already shown us that it is constantly finding new ways to bypass our immune system with new variants.

A new subline of the virus seems to have succeeded in doing this: "With eleven days more data, it is becoming quite clear that BQ.1.1 will trigger a variant wave in Europe and North America before the end of November," claims data scientist Cornelius Römer from of Cambridge University on Twitter.

His data analysis showed that the relative proportion of subvariant BQ.1.1 in infections more than doubled every week.

Römer also published a graphic that supports his thesis.

The scientist had already made it clear a few days earlier that the variant could overtake the Omicron variant, at least in terms of transmission technology.

Accordingly, there are “clear indications” that BQ.1.1 will have an advantage of more than 10 percent per day over BA.5.

A new corona variant has now also been discovered in Austria.

Corona subvariant BQ.1.1 is spreading in Europe and North America

So far, the BQ.1.1 variant has hit Europe and North America and, if the forecast is confirmed, could also drive the autumn and winter wave that has already broken in significantly.

However, this is not yet the case, because the new corona variants currently account for a small proportion of infections.

The German scientist and professor Moritz Gerstung from the University of Heidelberg reported on this - "not yet", he emphasizes.

Because he also recorded a faster development of the BQ1.1 variant compared to other new sub-variants.

The extent to which the variant will actually take on in Germany cannot be clearly predicted at this point in time.

It is therefore much more a question of assumptions based on previous observations and current developments.

Recently, however, Karl Lauterbach was also somewhat concerned

in an interview with the

“If, for example, the BQ.1.1 variant prevails, those who became infected in the summer would probably be easily infected again,” he suspects.

The reason for this is the pronounced immune escape of the variant.

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The question of how well the vaccinations against variant BQ.1.1 work also remains open.

According to the Cambridge scientist Römer, however, the BA.5 booster probably offers the best protection, since the variant is a descendant of the BA.5 variant.

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