There is no evidence that the Omicron BQ.1 subvariant of SARS-CoV-2 is associated with more severe illness or death, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported 17,549 new local COVID-19 cases.
An online rumor that the new BQ.1 subvariant is more contagious with a higher fatality rate than other Omicron subvariants is not true, the CECC said in a statement.
The illness severity and mortality rate among people infected with BQ.1 are similar to other Omicron subvariants, it said, urging people not to spread misinformation.
Photo: CNA
The BQ.1 subvariant is part of the BA.5 sublineage, which is more transmissible, and the WHO assessed that BQ.1 does not cause more severe illness, the CECC said.
However, BQ.1 appears to better at escaping immunity in people who have been vaccinated or were previously infected, indicating that those groups might be at increased risk of infection, it said.
As of Monday, 17 imported and five local cases of BQ.1 had been detected in Taiwan, all of whom had mild symptoms, it said.
BA.1 cases accounted for about 2 percent and 5 percent of the sequenced imported and local cases respectively, it added.
Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention data showed that the main circulating strains in China are BA.5.2 and BF.7, and that 49 cases of BQ.1 were reported in nine provinces or autonomous regions, but a widespread outbreak has not been detected, the CECC said.
BQ.1, which was first detected in Nigeria in July before being reported in North America and Europe in September, accounted for about 42.5 percent of new infections in Europe — more than 50 percent in Spain, Ireland, France, Iceland and Belgium — while BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 accounted for 67.9 percent of the new cases in the US, it said, citing WHO data.
Omicron BA.4/BA.5-adapated bivalent vaccine boosters can provide protection against BA.5 sublineages, reducing the risk of severe illness or death after infection, so the center encourages eligible recipients to get vaccinated as soon as possible, it said.
The center yesterday confirmed 17,549 new local COVID-19 cases, 114 imported cases and 37 deaths.
The local caseload was 5.1 percent higher than on Wednesday last week, and yesterday was the sixth consecutive day that new local cases have been higher than the same day in the previous week, it said.
Among the deceased, the youngest was a man in his 20s, who had chronic blood disease and received only one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the CECC said.
He was hospitalized on June 3 for treatment of the blood disease, tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 10, and died of septic shock and leukemia on Dec. 4, it said.
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