New Omicron subvariant accounts for nearly half U.S. new COVID infections

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- New Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is estimated to account for 49.1 percent of the COVID-19 cases in the United States for the week ending Jan. 21, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The subvariant XBB.1.5 is spreading quickly in the United States. It made up 35.5 percent of the total cases in the week ending Jan. 7, rising to 37.2 percent in the week ending Jan. 14, according to the CDC.

XBB.1.5 is currently the most transmissible variant in the country. The subvariant may spur more COVID-19 cases based on genetic characteristics and early growth rate estimates, according to the World Health Organization.

Another two dominant Omicron subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 accounted for about 40 percent of new COVID-19 cases in the United States in the latest week, CDC data showed.