(Bloomberg) — Two known omicron subvariants are driving the vast majority of infections as Covid-19 surges through China, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, repeating a call for more transparency as the country grapples with the end of its Covid Zero policy.
(Bloomberg) — Two known omicron subvariants are driving the vast majority of infections as Covid-19 surges through China, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, repeating a call for more transparency as the country grapples with the end of its Covid Zero policy.
The WHO wants rapid, regular and reliable data on hospitalizations, as well as more comprehensive real-time viral sequencing, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a briefing with journalists. A lack of adequate epidemiological data from China is a key factor cited by the US and other countries as they put new Covid testing requirements in place for travelers. It’s understandable that countries are taking steps to protect their citizens, Tedros said.
“We still do not have complete data,” said Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program. The Chinese numbers probably still under-represent deaths, hospitalizations and intensive-care occupancy, he said, while also praising “increased engagement” in data sharing from China over the past 10 days.
Omicron lineages BA.5.2 and BF.7 accounted for 97.5% of local infections in a 2,000-genome sample collected and sequenced from Dec. 1, WHO said, citing data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. At this point, the Chinese agency hasn’t reported any new variants, the WHO said.
The upcoming lunar New Year holiday may fuel a renewed wave of infections as people come together to celebrate, said Abdi Mahamud, director of the WHO’s alert and response coordination department.
Outside of China, the WHO is monitoring the spread of omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 in the US, with indications that it may be the most transmissible subvariant detected yet, according to Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead officer for Covid. There’s no indication yet that the subvariant is more severe than others, she said.
“It’s not just a matter of knowing what variants are circulating, we need the global community to assess these, to look mutation by mutation to determine if any of these are new variants that are circulating in China, but also around the world,” Van Kerkhove said.
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