Omicron Subvariant XBB.1.5 Could Be More Likely to Infect Vaccinated - NYC Health Officials

Omicron Subvariant XBB.1.5 Could Be More Likely to Infect Vaccinated - NYC Health Officials | 16 Jan 2023 | The Omicron XBB.1.5 variant of COVID-19 is more likely to infect individuals who have been vaccinated, according to New York City health officials. "Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 now accounts for 73 percent of all sequenced COVID-19 cases in NYC. XBB.1.5 is the most transmissible form of COVID-19 that we know of to date and may be more likely to infect people who have been vaccinated or already had COVID-19," the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene wrote on Twitter on Jan. 13. Despite this, the department [insanely] urged New Yorkers to get vaccinated and receive the updated COVID-19 booster shot, stating that doing so "is still the best way to protect yourself from hospitalization and death from COVID-19, including from these new variants." ...In an interview with Science News on Jan. 13, infectious diseases specialist Peter Chin-Hong of the University of California, San Francisco, stated that vaccinations are likely to provide just three months of protection against the XBB.1.5 variant of COVID-19.