Just last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the new Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 made up about 43 percent of COVID-19 cases in the United States. But in New York City, that number is much higher. The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene posted on Twitter that 73 percent of COVID-19 cases in the Big Apple trace back to XBB.1.5.
This new subvariant may not be any more severe than previous strains of Omicron, according to CDC. But it seems to be more likely to infect people who are vaccinated, and even bypass immunity from a previous infection….