PARIS, Dec 1 (NNN-Xinhua) — The BQ.1.1 subvariant of COVID-19 is currently taking precedence over the BA.5 subvariant in France, immunologist Brigitte Autran, president of the Committee for Monitoring and Anticipating Health Risks (COVARS), said.
The latest resurgence of COVID-19, according to her, is the “beginning of a wave,” even though the increase in the number of cases is “not significant yet.”
“The trend is not good, it is up” because of the subvariant of the virus, she said.
BA.5, the subvariant of the original Omicron subvariant of COVID-19 that has been prevalent in France, “has already been replaced, swept away by the BQ.1.1 subvariant, which is the baby of BA.5,” she explained.
“This variant is more contagious and it explains the current surge in the number of new cases,” she noted.
Autran said that the BQ.1.1 subvariant is currently being observed all over the world. “We do not yet know if it is meaner,” but it is understood to be more contagious, and therefore it is absolutely necessary to get protected and vaccinated.
She called on the eligible population to get booster shots, arguing that “vaccines guarantee protection against severe forms of COVID and against death.”
She also reiterated the need to respect barrier measures, including wearing masks, at least on public transport and in crowded places.
ROME: Hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients have surged in Italy, so have admissions to intensive care units (ICU) albeit at a slower rate, a report showed.
According to the Italian Federation of Health and Hospital Agencies (FIASO), overall COVID-19 hospitalizations in the country grew by 19.5 percent over the week ending Tuesday.
It was the second consecutive week of double-digit growth, following a 24-percent increase a week earlier. Nevertheless, in ICUs the increase was smaller, rising by 9 percent over the last week.
Notably, FIASO’s data showed that the number of unvaccinated individuals hospitalized for COVID-19 is growing faster than that of the vaccinated, with a 28 percent increase in admissions of unvaccinated patients on regular wards and a 30 percent increase in the ICUs.
On average, unvaccinated patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infections were around ten years younger than vaccinated individuals hospitalized for the disease, the report said.
The increases came as health officials warned of a potential winter wave of COVID-19 in Italy, the first European country hit hard by the pandemic in 2020.
Last week, the country’s National Institute of Health (ISS) said the virus’ transmission rate had surpassed 1.0 again, indicating the reach of the virus is increasing, with each recovered patient replaced by more than one new infection.
The country is also seeing a slower rollout of the latest booster vaccine. Giovanni Migliore, FIASO’s president, said that the virus had become endemic in Italy, and as such it was better for health officials to pitch vaccine booster shots as seasonal measures.
FIASO also noted in the report that 65 percent of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were initially being treated for other pathologies, while the remaining 35 percent were specifically hospitalized for COVID-19. — NNN-XINHUA
