DLNews Health News:

Los Angeles County logged nearly 7,000 new COVID-19 cases over the long holiday weekend.

If you've been reading about the Covid-19 virus lately, you've likely heard about the Omicron offshoot called XBB.1.5. This new coronavirus variant is causing some alarm among infectious disease experts. It can potentially drive a new Covid-19 surge in the U.S., especially in the Northeast.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, XBB.1.5 accounts for 40.5% of new infections in the U.S. during the past week. Since December, the variant has been doubling its share of positive COVID cases.

The XBB variant is highly transmissible, making it more contagious than its counterpart. The new strain is also more capable of evading the immune system. For instance, it may evade a booster shot by becoming a more resistant form of the virus.

Some of the mutations this strain is sporting could also make it easier to evade the immune system of previously infected people. These changes could help the virus become more transmissible and efficient. But they also raise the possibility of reinfection.

During the past four weeks, XBB.1.5 has accounted for more than a quarter of all new COVID-19 cases. More than 75% of the new cases are in the northeastern United States.

However, the biggest counties with high COVID levels are in the south. Miami and Los Angeles, for example, rank among the highest.

As more and more cases are confirmed each week, more and more scientists are worried about the threat the omicron offshoot XBB.1.5 poses to the U.S. Whether it's actually causing a new COVID-19 surge in the U.S. is still up for debate. The omicron sublineage can potentially drive new Covid-19 infections in the U.S., but it is still unknown how widespread the variant is. One thing is sure: scientists are closely monitoring the dominant strains. Even though the number of COVID-positive patients is still low compared to the previous winter, hospitalizations have accelerated in recent weeks. In addition, the CDC estimates that more cases are on the way soon.

Los Angeles County has become one of the biggest counties in the country with a high COVID-19 case rate. The county has nearly 5,000 COVID-19-positive patients as of Monday, making it the sixth most-sequenced COVID-19 community. In fact, the country's positive test rate has topped 5% for the second week in a row. Health officials are concerned about the lack of access to testing. They are also concerned about the influx of hospitalizations. California has seen a slow but noticeable increase in the COVID-19 case rate compared to other areas of the country. Last week, the LA County case rate climbed to 258 cases per 100,000 people. 

According to the CDC Director of Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division Dr. Barbara Mahon, the current sequenced sample represents a small fraction of the overall cases. Even though the probability interval for XBB.1.5 is relatively small, it still does not clear the minimum threshold in the underlying sequences. Still, the public health department is preparing for an increase in cases. So they encourage residents to get vaccinated, wear masks in public places, and test before any gathering.

If people do not get vaccinated, they are not safe. For example, only 29% of children in LA County have received a full vaccination shot. Meanwhile, only 63% of adults 65 and older have received a booster shot.

Hospitalizations have stabilized but are still rising. During the outbreak's peak, the county's hospitals tapped close to 5,000 cases a day.