COVID variant that defeats our IMMUNITY.
This week, in Singapore, a novel-coronavirus subvariant known as XBB made a stunning entrance. From 4,700 on Monday to 11,700 on Tuesday, the number of new COVID instances more than doubled, and XBB is probably certainly to blame. Recently, the identical subvariant also appeared in Hong Kong.
In many aspects, XBB is the deadliest version of the virus so far. It is a severely altered descendant of the Omicron variation of the SAR-CoV-2 virus, which caused a record-breaking wave of illnesses beginning around a year ago. Compared to any prior variant or subvariant, it is more contagious. Additionally, it avoids the antibodies produced by monoclonal therapy, potentially rendering an entire class of medications useless for treating COVID.
Amesh Adalja, a public-health specialist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, described XBB as “possibly the most immune-evasive” and “poses issues for current monoclonal antibody-based treatments and prevention plan” in an interview with The Daily Beast.
The bad news is that. The good news is that even though the original immunizations are less effective against XBB, the new “bivalent” vaccine boosters from Pfizer and Moderna seem to perform just fine against XBB. Although they won’t stop every infection and reinfection, they should greatly lower the possibility of a serious infection that could result in hospitalization or even death. Adalja stated that vaccine protection against what counts most—severe disease—remains intact even with immune-evasive variations.
Maintaining up-to-date with your boosters is “the most impactful thing you can do in preparation for what might come,” according to Peter Hotez, a specialist in vaccine development at Baylor College, as the novel-coronavirus evolves to become more contagious and more resistant to specific types of medications.
In August, researchers found XBB for the first time. It is one of several significant subvariants that have developed from the fundamental Omicron variant, adding ever more mutations to essential viral components, particularly the spike protein, which aids the virus in attaching to and infecting our cells.
Along the spike, XBB exhibits at least seven additional mutations. The subvariant has mutations that, when combined, make it more difficult for our immune systems to identify it, making it more likely to dodge our antibodies and infiltrate our cells to spread infection.
This increase in mutations is expected. As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic approaches its fourth year, changes along the spike protein have been found to describe the majority of the significant novel variants and subvariants.
What is unexpected is how fierce the rivalry is for XBB’s position as the next dominant novel-coronavirus type. There are also several additional Omicron subvariants in use. They’re all really advanced. Especially on the spike, many of them actually share a small group of important changes.
As a result, while XBB seems to be gaining ground in Asia, it’s near relative BQ.1.1 is rapidly expanding throughout Europe and some U.S. states. There are many additional candidates, such as BA.2.75.2. These viral cousins are referred to by Hotez as “Scrabble” subvariants, a play on the popular word game and the confusing scientific names of related viruses.
The Scrabble variations show “convergent evolution,” as described by scientists. Specifically, distinct viral sublineages that continue to accumulate the same mutations. It appears as though each of Omicron’s offspring is independently learning how to become a stronger virus than their parent while also developing a closer bond with one another.
Immune evasion is a widespread trait. At least two of the Scrabble subvariants—XBB and BQ.1.1—are virtually undetectable by antibody therapies currently in use and just marginally detectable by antibodies generated by the prime doses of the most effective messenger-RNA vaccines.
The genetic direction of the novel coronavirus is shown by the ability of XBB and its brethren to evade certain of our treatments and, to a lesser extent, our initial vaccines. This winter or next spring, once XBB or one of its relatives becomes prevalent worldwide, there may be a global rise in infections, as evidenced by the current surge in illnesses in areas like Singapore.
The worst conceivable effects can be reduced. The finest and longest-lasting antibodies are still those produced naturally by previous infections. They are not permanent. However, even while they do linger for a while—a few months or even a whole year—the likelihood of developing a severe COVID infection is quite low.
Therefore, if you contracted Omicron earlier, such as during the wave of infections that peaked around February last year and started around Thanksgiving, you might still have strong antibodies for a few months. There is more than enough time to supplement those dwindling natural antibodies with a dose of the most recent mRNA boosters.
The BA.5 subvariant of Omicron, which is still the dominant form of SARS-CoV-2 but is quickly vanishing as XBB and the other Scrabble subvariants outcompete it, was targeted by Pfizer and Moderna when creating these new boosters.
The bivalent boosters ought to be fairly effective against BA.5-related virus variants, such as the Scrabbles. According to Hotez, most of the new Scrabble variations resemble BA.5 more than the original China lineage because one of the two booster components triggers an immunological response to BA.5.
The implication, of course, is that in order to keep up with the virus’s rapid evolution, we’ll eventually need another new booster. Yes, the bivalent boosters are effective against BA.5 and its direct progeny. What about the Omicron subvariants that follow XBB and its relatives, in the following generation?
The idea of an annual COVID booster is becoming more and more popular among health experts. Even Vice President Joe Biden of the United States gave the proposal his support in a recent statement. We will now be able to annually update our vaccines to target the prevalent form as the virus changes, Biden added. “You should get it somewhere between Labor Day and Halloween, much like your annual flu vaccination.”
However, if, as some epidemiologists worry, natural antibodies deteriorate more quickly and the novel coronavirus mutates more quickly than expected, one booster shot per year could not be sufficient. If it turns out that we require new boosters every two years, one worry is whether the industry can create new shots quickly enough and whether regulatory bodies can quickly approve them.
But there’s an even bigger query. According to James Lawler, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, “the most essential element is just having people receive a more recent booster.”
Will enough people receive the booster, even if one is released approximately every six months, to have an impact on the overall rates of severe disease and death? Globally and particularly in the United States, where just a percent of people have received the bivalent booster since federal regulators approved it in August, booster usage is falling.
A nasty little subvariant is XBB. However, that is hardly the last word on COVID. Whether or not many people are paying attention, the novel coronavirus will continue to evolve and discover new methods to circumvent our antibodies.
The virus is still after us. Therefore, we are unable to finish it. Gain momentum. And be ready to receive a boost once more in 2023.
