the most vunerable are left without an important tool, according to the Boston Globe.
3. Little is known about the side effects
The good news is that XBB does not seem to cause more severe illness or death, however, little is known about the effects of its subvariants, XBB.1 and XBB.1.5, which have turned up in the Northeast, according to Rajendram Rajnarayanan, assistant dean of research at the New York Institute of Technology, Jonesboro, Ark., campus.
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4. The symptoms are similar to other variants
The symptoms of the latest Omicron subvariants are mostly similar to those of the earlier version of Omicron, according to NBC News.
Typical symptoms of the Omicron subvariants include:
- Sore throat
- Hoarse voice
- Cough
- Fatigue
- Nasal congestion
- Runny nose
- Headache
- Muscle aches
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Unlike earlier variants such as Delta, which strongly affected the lungs, Omicron and its subvariants tend to cause more upper respiratory symptoms, according to doctors. Those symptoms can include congestion, sore throat and changes in taste and smell.
5. Certain factors may be contributing to the spike
Dr. Eric Topol, executive vice president of Scripps Research in La Jolla, Calif., noted that the arrival of XBB.1.5 in New York coincided with a marked rise in hospitalizations in that state.
“Of course, other factors are likely contributing such as waning of immunity, indoor/holiday gatherings, cold weather, lack of mitigation. But it is noteworthy that New York’s [COVID-19] hospital admission rate is the highest since late January,” he wrote in an online column. “So we don’t know for sure how much of this is being driven by XBB.1.5, but it doesn’t look favorable.”
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6. You can protect yourself
The best way to protect yourself is no different than with other variants. Experts encourage booster shots. The bivalent booster vaccine that has been used to protect against the Omicron variant and the original form of the virus has proven to be effective against XBB, according to a recent small study.