New COVID omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is ‘spreading like wildfire’ in US: Health experts reveal why Drs. Marc Siegel and Shad Marvasti reveal what's concerning health professionals about the immuno-evasive, contagious COVID strain Angelica StabileBy Angelica Stabile | Fox News
What is the new XBB.1.5 COVID variant? Fox News medical contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat weighs in on the rise in cases of the new COVID variant heading into 2023 on 'Fox News Live.'
The new omicron subvariant, known as XBB.1.5, is spreading like wildfire across the U.S.
As colder weather brings in peak COVID infections, this novel mutation is beginning to worry health professionals.
So, what are some of the unique features of the strain that is now gripping swaths of the country?
THE NEW OMICRON SUBVARIANT XBB.1.5: WHAT YOU MUST KNOW NOW
First, this subvariant is immuno-evasive. It's not as susceptible to natural immunity or vaccines — and it is very contagious, health professionals say.
In a phone interview with Fox News Digital, Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel explained that there are actually two subvariants at play: XBB and XBB.1.5.
Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel, pictured, said that the XBB subvariants sweeping parts of the nation are "highly contagious," with spike proteins acting like "suction cups." Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel, pictured, said that the XBB subvariants sweeping parts of the nation are "highly contagious," with spike proteins acting like "suction cups." (Fox News)
XBB.1.5 is more contagious, said Dr. Siegel, who is also a professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.
It's more contagious due to its ability to grip tightly onto a host, he explained.
"The spike proteins are like suction cups," he said.
"Viruses always want to be more and more transmissible and infect more hosts."
"So, the more it can get a grip … the more easily it transmits from cell to cell," he added.
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Both XBB subvariants are "highly contagious," Siegel added, since each omicron variant is "out-competing its predecessor."
Dr. Shad Fani Marvasti, associate professor and director of public health and prevention at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, told Fox News Digital that each new strain develops with the intention of overshadowing those that went before it.
Dr. Shad Marvasti, associate professor and director of public health and prevention at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, said he hopes that COVID variants will become "less severe." Dr. Shad Marvasti, associate professor and director of public health and prevention at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, said he hopes that COVID variants will become "less severe." (Shad Marvasti, MD, MPH)
"Viruses always want to be more and more transmissible and infect more hosts," he said.
In some cases, there’s a "trade-off" between mutations, in which some may become more transmissible but less virulent in terms of the health impact, Marvasti also said.
This is the hope for omicron and its developing variants, such as the "sticky" XBB, he noted.
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He said he hopes that "we start seeing [the variants becoming] less severe," he said.
"And that can be both a function of the evolution of the virus … and also the fact that more people have been exposed to the virus through either vaccination boosters or previous infections," he said.
A nurse administers a pediatric dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to a young girl. Dr. Marc Siegel noted that since fewer hospitalizations are occurring with current COVID subvariants, they are actually less severe, though health professionals are not sure why this is. A nurse administers a pediatric dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to a young girl. Dr. Marc Siegel noted that since fewer hospitalizations are occurring with current COVID subvariants, they are actually less severe, though health professionals are not sure why this is. (ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
Dr. Siegel added that so far there’s "no evidence" that XBB is more virulent.
"If it's spreading like wildfire and it's not killing more people, that means it's less virulent," he said. "But we don't know the reason for that."
"It's definitely the majority of cases in the Northeast, and we expect that to be for the whole country."
Currently, XBB.1.5 accounts for almost 41% of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the country, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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The XBB mutation has picked up speed, jumping from just 21% of COVID-19 cases on Christmas Eve, the CDC noted.
During the last week of December 2022, XBB.1.5 made up 75.3% of COVID-19 cases in northeastern states.
Merline Jimenez, left, administers a COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swab to a person at a testing site in the international terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in December. The XBB subvariant will likely spread across the nation, Dr. Shad Marvasti said. Merline Jimenez, left, administers a COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swab to a person at a testing site in the international terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in December. The XBB subvariant will likely spread across the nation, Dr. Shad Marvasti said. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Those states include Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, the CDC said.
Even though XBB numbers are currently lower in western parts of the country, Dr. Marvasti of Arizona stressed there’s no doubt the subvariant will catch on just about everywhere else.
"It’s going to increase in the coming weeks no matter what level it’s at right now."
"It's definitely the majority of cases in the Northeast, and we expect that to be for the whole country," he said.
"In Arizona, my expectation is that it's going to climb pretty quickly, especially since we have a lot of winter visitors here this time of year, and we're going to have more folks with the Phoenix Open and the Super Bowl," he also said. (The Phoenix Open golf tournament takes place Feb. 6-12, 2023; the Super Bowl is Feb. 12, 2023.)
People are shown passing a COVID-19 testing site along a Manhattan street on Jan. 21, 2022 in New York City. Omincron variants are known for attacking the upper respiratory tract – the nose and sinuses – instead of the lungs, said Dr. Marvasti. People are shown passing a COVID-19 testing site along a Manhattan street on Jan. 21, 2022 in New York City. Omincron variants are known for attacking the upper respiratory tract – the nose and sinuses – instead of the lungs, said Dr. Marvasti. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
"It’s going to increase in the coming weeks no matter what level it’s at right now," he added.
Although it’s still too soon to tell how the new strain will impact hospitalization and death rates, neither Siegel nor Marvasti is expecting a steep increase.
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Marvasti noted that hospitalizations have been less of an issue since omicron’s appearance.
Keeping up with vaccinations is important, yet Dr. Siegel said the constantly emerging variants question the efficacy of current vaccines on the market.
This is because omicron variants are known for attacking the upper respiratory tract — the nose and sinuses — instead of the lower respiratory tract in the lungs, he said.
"Which is one of the reasons why you see less people on ventilators," he explained.
Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel, at left; Dr. Shad Marvasti of University of Arizona College of Medicine, at right. A microscopic COVID germ is shown in the center. Both medical professionals encourage people to take appropriate steps to stay healthy, including wearing masks and getting vaccinated, when appropriate. Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel, at left; Dr. Shad Marvasti of University of Arizona College of Medicine, at right. A microscopic COVID germ is shown in the center. Both medical professionals encourage people to take appropriate steps to stay healthy, including wearing masks and getting vaccinated, when appropriate. (Fox News / Dr. Shad Marvasti)
Both experts stressed that even though symptoms may be less severe, people who are at high risk or immunocompromised should continue taking appropriate steps toward prevention, including wearing masks and getting vaccinated.
"There are a lot of things you can do to help boost immunity and improve your ability to fight off infections, including COVID."
While keeping up with vaccinations is important, Siegel said, he added that these constantly emerging variants question the efficacy of current vaccines on the market.
The XBB's immuno-evasive properties are "bothering" health experts the most, he noted.
At a recent news briefing, Harvard Medical School assistant professor of medicine Kathryn Stephenson said that even though the original COVID vaccines may have lost some of their punch against new variants, they’re still holding up well against severe illness and death.
Jordane Domain gets a COVID-19 test done by a health care worker on Jan. 13, 2022 in North Miami, Florida. Dr. Siegel noted that more research and better funding are required for COVID prevention, which might include inhaled vaccines in the future. Jordane Domain gets a COVID-19 test done by a health care worker on Jan. 13, 2022 in North Miami, Florida. Dr. Siegel noted that more research and better funding are required for COVID prevention, which might include inhaled vaccines in the future. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
One possible solution could be incorporating Omicron-updated boosters to further enhance protection, she said.
This would require more research and funding into "better" vaccines such as inhaled vaccinations, said Dr. Siegel.
"My philosophy toward protection from this virus is the more immunity you have, the better," he said.
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In an effort for everyone to stay healthy, Dr. Marvasti encouraged practicing other ways to boost immunity, including getting enough sleep, managing stress, reducing inflammation, eating healthier, taking probiotics, staying hydrated and exercising.
"People should recognize that there are a lot of things you can do to help boost immunity and improve your ability to fight off infections including COVID," he said.
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Those who've come down with either XBB subvariant can continue treating it as they would any other coronavirus case.
Siegel also recommended the prescription medication Paxlovid as a treatment in some cases, under the guidance of a doctor.
COVID drug Paxlovid was hailed as a game-changer. What happened? Insufficient investment and fears about rebound and side effects are driving down use of a lifesaving antiviral. Max Kozlov Twitter Facebook Email A lab technician visually inspects COVID-19 Paxlovid tablet samples in Freiburg, Germany. Tablets of Paxlovid, which reduces risk of severe COVID-19, are inspected by a laboratory technician.Credit: Thomas Hansmann/AP/Shutterstock
When clinical trial data for the antiviral drug Paxlovid emerged in late 2021, physicians hailed its astonishing efficacy — a reduction of nearly 90% in the risk of severe COVID-19. But more than a year later, COVID-19 remains a leading cause of death in many countries, and not only in low-income nations where the drug is in short supply. In the United States, for example, hundreds of people still die from COVID-19 each day.
Researchers say that the drug’s rollout has been hampered by worries about ‘rebound’ (the mysterious return of symptoms or detectable virus days after a person starts to feel better) and side effects — as well as by declining concern about the risk of COVID-19. Inadequate funding for distribution, the drug’s high price tag and the need for it be taken soon after infection have also slowed its uptake. As a result, physicians have prescribed the drug in only about 0.5% of new COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom, and in about 13% in the United States, according to a report by the health-analytics firm Airfinity, based in London, UK. Even doctors have reported serious difficulties in helping their family members to obtain Paxlovid1.
Sentiment against the drug has persisted even as regulators globally have rescinded authorizations for monoclonal antibodies against COVID-19, leaving Paxlovid as one of the only tools to prevent death in high-risk individuals, says Davey Smith, an infectious-disease physician at the University of California, San Diego. “It’s a game-changer drug that has good efficacy, even in the setting of Omicron,” says Smith. “But rebound has been tagged as a reason not to take the drug, which is a shame.”
Premium protection Paxlovid is a combination of the oral antiviral drugs nirmatrelvir and ritonavir. It reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% in high-risk individuals who took the drug within three days of experiencing symptoms, according to a clinical trial2 sponsored by pharmaceutical company Pfizer, which produces the drug and is based in New York City.
US regulators first authorized Paxlovid in December 2021, and have since loosened restrictions on who can prescribe it in an effort to make it more broadly available. But health officials lament that the drug has not been deployed to the extent they had expected: about 10 million Paxlovid courses have been delivered to the United States, but only about 6.7 million have been used.
This underuse stems in part from misinformation and misconceptions about the drug, says Daniel Griffin, an infectious-disease physician at Columbia University in New York City.
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For example, people perceive COVID-19 as less risky than they did earlier in the pandemic, Griffin says, making them less likely to seek treatment and physicians less likely to prescribe medications promptly. Paxlovid works by inhibiting viral replication, which mostly occurs early in the disease course. This means that the drug must be taken within the first five days of symptom onset, leaving a narrow window of time for people to receive treatment. That does not mesh well with “this mentality of ‘Let’s wait and see how you do’,” among doctors treating people with COVID-19, says Griffin.
To add to the confusion, worries have swirled about post-Paxlovid ‘rebound’, fuelled by high-profile cases in figures such as US President Joe Biden and and former US infectious-disease chief Anthony Fauci. Such publicity has had a chilling effect on the number of people seeking Paxlovid, says Smith.
But researchers have found that rebound often occurs even in peo
If we are to use science as they would like science would tell you that each strain is weaker then its predecessor. Only cited science when it suits them. They all need to be punished for crimes against humanity
Paxlovid can be prescribed by a pharmacist here in AZ. To get ivermectin you need a doctor or you can mail order it from India. Ivermectin has been shown to work. Paxlovid, not so much. In Mexico, you can get ivermectin OTC. Here in the USA, you must get past the advice of your doctor, a pharmacist and the screaming of your vaxxed family and friends to get a prescription. I know of families that have gotten into fist fights over a member trying to give a loved on some ivermectin. Now the fear is being ramped up again. And the push to get the shot. Really???
Actually in some states (including my home state of Tennessee) Ivermectin is now available OTC. Not all pharmacies will fill it for you, especially the large chain phramacies like Walgreen or Walmart or Kroger, but there are small town compounding pharmacies that will sell it to you.
If anyone here is in the Knoxville TN area, here are the pharmacies:
Rocky Hill Pharmacy; 7660 S. Northshore Dr., Knoxville
Village Pharmacy; 4206 Chapman Hwy, Knoxville
Village Pharmacy; 2541 Broadway, Maryville
Heartland Apothecary; 9947 Kingston Pike, Knoxville (west)
You will be asked what meds you're on in case Ivermectin interacts badly with them, but other than that, you're good to go. My wife and I got one round (5-7 days) each and the capsules are good until the end of 2024.
That's good to know... Thanks. Beats driving to Mexico eh?
Don't know where you're located, but look around to states near you that allow Ivermectin OTC, and then find pharmacies that will actually sell it to you. Big box pharmacies (Kroger, Walmart, Walgreens, etc.) won't sell it even if it's legal in your state. You'll most likely have to find a family-owned or privately-owned compounding pharmacy to get a 5-7 day regimen.
Thanks. March can't come soon enough.
Um, what's happening in March?
Paxlovid seems more likely to give you the rebound sickness anyway.
Imagine feeling fine, being made to test, testing positive, waiting a few days for a Paxlovid prescription and only after you start that do you start to feel sick.
And Paxlovid is expensive, but will be covered by "insurance". Ivermectin is cheap, but you have to pay out of pocket, or pay and drive to Mexico....... What a racket! I hear my friends now saying, "but its free!!" (close my eyes... shake my head)
More psychological war. Forget it.
Soooo. Started skimming after the 26th paragraph. Any symptoms for this plague?
All of them.
This reminds me, I need to make a trip to Tractor Supply.
The propaganda is THICK in this one...
We in Australia predicted this 6 months ago (during our winter) after we saw what happened here. Jabbed people kept getting sick (and tested positive to covid on those stupid tests) again and again. More jabs, more sick.
Now its winter in the north and the same is happening. Immune system can only withstand so much frontal attack with these jabs.
Nah......I'm good.
I'll wait for the fuckwit variant of Covid.
Nope. Still don't believe in this crap. Vaccines and flu shots are what spread sickness these days in my opinion.
I got covid a year and a half ago, sick for 4 days. My taste and smell were so out of sorts for a year and then I got sick (typical cold) in August and December. Getting sick has improved my taste and smell. So now I welcome colds and flus :-) if I have to keep getting sick to clear my system of whatever is keeping me from tasting and smelling right, so be it. Unjabbed, letting natural immunity do it’s job.
But researchers have found that rebound often occurs even in people who don’t take Paxlovid3. Precise estimates for rebound incidence vary, depending on the population studied and the definition of ‘rebound’. But regardless of whether people take Paxlovid, Smith says, it’s common for them to experience either viral rebound — in which people test positive again — or symptom rebound, but not both at the same time4. Smith says that symptom rebound tends to be very mild, and is still far preferable to hospitalization or death.
A bitter pill In addition, Paxlovid can’t be taken with many other drugs and, in some people, makes certain foods taste bitter or metallic, both of which reinforce the perception that it’s toxic, Smith says. Treatment requires taking several pills twice a day for five consecutive days — which isn’t the easiest regimen to adhere to, Smith adds.
Such concerns have led health officials to point to hesitancy to explain why use of the drug has fallen short. But there are also systemic reasons, says Anne Sosin, a public-health-policy specialist at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Paxlovid relies on a robust COVID-19 testing infrastructure and access to primary-care physicians and pharmacies, she notes. This amplifies pre-existing disparities resulting from race and income. For example, Black and Hispanic populations were about 36% and 30% less likely to be prescribed Paxlovid, respectively, compared with white populations, according to an analysis5 of almost 700,000 people who sought COVID-19 care across 30 US sites. Fears about hesitancy, says Sosin, provide an excuse to blame individuals rather than policymakers and to deflect “attention away from the system that needs to be in place to deliver the drugs”.
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To remedy these disparities, she says she would like to see health officials mount an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to ensure that everybody has equal access to the drug by engaging local communities and expanding access to testing centres. For example, health officials have successfully narrowed similar disparities in the number of people who received their primary COVID-19 vaccination series by bringing vaccines “to people in the areas they live, work and play”.
COVID-19 isn’t going away, says Smith, so it’s important to develop other antiviral drugs. Paxlovid could soon have competition: in November, Japan authorized ensitrelvir, a once-daily antiviral made by the Japanese pharmaceutical company Shionogi, based in Osaka and Hokkaido University in Japan. In July, China authorized the use of an HIV drug to treat COVID-19, but detailed data from a large clinical trial have not been released.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d4158
How can 'they' tell which variant of covid that's in front of them in a patient? I am in rural area - everything is 4 to 6 months behind the times, including the initial Covid 19 original Sars 2 version. We didn't have anyone getting sick with 'positive' covid until well into the 2020 year (summertime, if I recall). And how can drs justify treating this when the symptoms are no more than a light cold? (irrespective of taste-sensation loss, not a reason to treat this with pharma.)
But researchers have found that rebound often occurs even in people who don’t take Paxlovid3. Precise estimates for rebound incidence vary, depending on the population studied and the definition of ‘rebound’. But regardless of whether people take Paxlovid, Smith says, it’s common for them to experience either viral rebound — in which people test positive again — or symptom rebound, but not both at the same time4. Smith says that symptom rebound tends to be very mild, and is still far preferable to hospitalization or death.
A bitter pill In addition, Paxlovid can’t be taken with many other drugs and, in some people, makes certain foods taste bitter or metallic, both of which reinforce the perception that it’s toxic, Smith says. Treatment requires taking several pills twice a day for five consecutive days — which isn’t the easiest regimen to adhere to, Smith adds.
Such concerns have led health officials to point to hesitancy to explain why use of the drug has fallen short. But there are also systemic reasons, says Anne Sosin, a public-health-policy specialist at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Paxlovid relies on a robust COVID-19 testing infrastructure and access to primary-care physicians and pharmacies, she notes. This amplifies pre-existing disparities resulting from race and income. For example, Black and Hispanic populations were about 36% and 30% less likely to be prescribed Paxlovid, respectively, compared with white populations, according to an analysis5 of almost 700,000 people who sought COVID-19 care across 30 US sites. Fears about hesitancy, says Sosin, provide an excuse to blame individuals rather than policymakers and to deflect “attention away from the system that needs to be in place to deliver the drugs”.
Can drugs reduce the risk of long COVID? What scientists know so far
To remedy these disparities, she says she would like to see health officials mount an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to ensure that everybody has equal access to the drug by engaging local communities and expanding access to testing centres. For example, health officials have successfully narrowed similar disparities in the number of people who received their primary COVID-19 vaccination series by bringing vaccines “to people in the areas they live, work and play”.
COVID-19 isn’t going away, says Smith, so it’s important to develop other antiviral drugs. Paxlovid could soon have competition: in November, Japan authorized ensitrelvir, a once-daily antiviral made by the Japanese pharmaceutical company Shionogi, based in Osaka and Hokkaido University in Japan. In July, China authorized the use of an HIV drug to treat COVID-19, but detailed data from a large clinical trial have not been released.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d4158
"But regardless of whether people take Paxlovid, Smith says, it’s common for them to experience either viral rebound — in which people test positive again — or symptom rebound, but not both at the same time." Okay, so if you test positive, you have the virus but don't get sick. If you get sick, you don't have the virus and Paxlovid doesn't help in either case. So, why take Paxlovid again??
So they rebrand the common cold as the XBB variant.
Wow. He really said this.
I wondered if Covid was real until I got it. I was pretty miserable. Doctor just said “it’s going to suck,” and I walked out declining Paxlovid. First two days were hard, symptoms were diarrhea, fever, chills, pain in body, just overall malaise and I suffered depression and anger during it as well. After two days, body still feels like shit but Tylenol keeps symptoms at bay. Lots of fluid, sugary drinks like Gatorade/Powerade helped. I definitely don’t want it again and I will take precautions and I will move away from people who are looking or acting like they are sick. My best advice, is not to get weak. That’s when it got me. I was working hard at work, stressing out about what was going on in the world, pushing my limits studying for a major test, kids were out of school for summer and the weather was unbearably hot so everyone was cooped up inside. I was overexerting myself working out. All those factors combined I think, allowed my system to weaken and that’s when it hit me. When I was at my lowest point. So let’s not get low! Make sure you’re getting sun and fresh air, stay and think positive, maintain healthy relationships and boundaries, speak your mind and get it out if you’re feeling stressed, see a therapist, workout, eat right eat right eat right. I get stressed at night and eat and it makes me feel awful in the mornings. I’m going to work on that. No alcohol if you have an issue with it. Get sober! Also, if you’re a smoker and you’re trying to quit, most insurances have a tobacco cessation program. I just signed up and they sent me tons of free nicotine gum and an inhaler. But if you can’t quit cigs, at least try vaping. God bless you, and I’m praying we all have a healthy 2023!
X22? Yeah, it should spread like wildfire. I agree.