COVID-19: US epidemiologist highlights risks of XBB variant, accuses CDC of hiding data

“Unreleased data shows XBB15, a super variant, surged to 40 percent US (CDC unreported for weeks!) and now causing hospitalization surges in New York/New England,” Feigl-Ding said. “Multiple models show #XBB15 is much worse in transmission R-value and infection rate than previous variants — faster by LEAPS and BOUNDS.”

 

Feigl-Ding said that the data showed the XBB15 variant was 120 percent faster than the BQ.1 sub-lineage of COVID-19, which was previously the fastest-spreading variant. Interestingly, Feigl-Ding accused the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of hiding the data about the subvariant for weeks even as it was causing a surge in infections. The expert stated that the recombinant was likely of American origin and had emerged in New York around October. Feigl-Ding also said that this was likely the cause behind the high number of COVID-19 cases in New York, which have not come down like in previous waves.

Feigl-Ding went on to explain how the variant is worse than older variants. He summarised that XBB15 was “one of the most immunity-evasive variants to date” and “one of the best variants for entry and invading human cells,” appeared to “spread much faster than old XBB or BQ variants”, and is causing a large number of “hospitalisations wherever it’s dominant.”

He also stated that since XBB15 was a recombinant variant, he wasn’t sure how effective existing vaccines developed for the Omicron variant were going to be.

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