From the land of the rising Sun, Japan, to Malaysia’s closest neighbouring nation southbound, Singapore, another incarnation of the infamously deadly disease, Covid-19. the Omicron XBB variant, is making its rounds.
While the World Health Organization (WHO) had reported the probably most immune-evasive Covid variant to date had been detected in 26 countries, the organization did not disclose the which countries specifically.
However, the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (Gisaid), a global science initiative and primary source that provides open access to genomic data of influenza viruses and the coronavirus responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic, revealed that cases were rising in countries including Canada, England and India to name a few.
Malaysia on the other hand had recorded four locally transmitted cases of the XBB sub-variant consisting of three men and one woman aged between 25 and 51 years old. The cases took place in neighbouring states of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.
All the cases were reported to belong to category 2 which are moderate symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat and runny nose, with one case being a re-infection.
XBB, a virus formed from a combination of the omicron subvariants BA.2.75 and BA.2, is a subvariant that features several mutations in its spike protein which is the part of the coronavirus that latches onto cells to gain entry giving it an exceptional ability to evade immunity acquired through past infections or vaccination.
Based on a report by The San Francisco Chronicle, a UC Berkeley infectious disease expert, John Swartzberg said that a slew of new variants that are using a similar approach to survive are finding ways to evade the way we get immunity from vaccines and previous infection with changes on the spike protein.
In addition, there are also 'spin off strains' of XBB known as XBB.1, XBB.2 and XBB.3.
It was reported that the symptoms of the XBB variant are similar to its Omicron cousins such as cough, cold, low-level fever, sore throat and body aches. The symptoms may be more severe for individuals who have underlying health conditions such as diabetes.
Infectious disease expert Dr. Celine Gounder, a Senior Fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation told Insider that XBB is still Omicron and the new boosts from Pfizer and Moderna target BA.4 and BA.5 which are related to XBB.
In other words, existing vaccines should still protect against severe disease, hospitalization and death according to Gounder.
Malaysia will be receiving the new bivalent vaccine in November which is effective against both the Omicron and the XBB sub-variants, according to caretaker Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
Khairy also advised those who fall in the high-risk categories to take their second booster shots instead of waiting for the bivalent vaccine to arrive.
Consultant lung doctor, Dr Helmy Haja Mydin opined that there is a risk of an increase in cases and a new wave with the 15th General Election (GE15) just around the corner, what more with the recent relaxation of rules on the usage of face masks.
"If we look at the Singapore, the number of cases went up and then stabilised.
"This is partly due to the characteristic of XBB that appears to evade our immune system. The number of critical cases does not appear to have significantly increased in Singapore which is reassuring to some degree.”
However, he added that it is a reminder that we should do what we can to reduce exposure and risk including being updated with vaccines and wearing masks where necessary.
"I think it is very important that we employ good judgement when deciding on the risk of exposure. Some situations such as indoor or poorly ventilated rooms or public events with lots of people in close proximity (both of which are likely to increase with election campaigning) should lead us to wear masks,” Dr Helmy advised.
While the World Health Organization (WHO) had reported the probably most immune-evasive Covid variant to date had been detected in 26 countries, the organization did not disclose the which countries specifically.
However, the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (Gisaid), a global science initiative and primary source that provides open access to genomic data of influenza viruses and the coronavirus responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic, revealed that cases were rising in countries including Canada, England and India to name a few.
Malaysia on the other hand had recorded four locally transmitted cases of the XBB sub-variant consisting of three men and one woman aged between 25 and 51 years old. The cases took place in neighbouring states of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.
All the cases were reported to belong to category 2 which are moderate symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat and runny nose, with one case being a re-infection.
XBB, a virus formed from a combination of the omicron subvariants BA.2.75 and BA.2, is a subvariant that features several mutations in its spike protein which is the part of the coronavirus that latches onto cells to gain entry giving it an exceptional ability to evade immunity acquired through past infections or vaccination.
Based on a report by The San Francisco Chronicle, a UC Berkeley infectious disease expert, John Swartzberg said that a slew of new variants that are using a similar approach to survive are finding ways to evade the way we get immunity from vaccines and previous infection with changes on the spike protein.
In addition, there are also 'spin off strains' of XBB known as XBB.1, XBB.2 and XBB.3.
It was reported that the symptoms of the XBB variant are similar to its Omicron cousins such as cough, cold, low-level fever, sore throat and body aches. The symptoms may be more severe for individuals who have underlying health conditions such as diabetes.
Infectious disease expert Dr. Celine Gounder, a Senior Fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation told Insider that XBB is still Omicron and the new boosts from Pfizer and Moderna target BA.4 and BA.5 which are related to XBB.
In other words, existing vaccines should still protect against severe disease, hospitalization and death according to Gounder.
Malaysia will be receiving the new bivalent vaccine in November which is effective against both the Omicron and the XBB sub-variants, according to caretaker Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
Khairy also advised those who fall in the high-risk categories to take their second booster shots instead of waiting for the bivalent vaccine to arrive.
Consultant lung doctor, Dr Helmy Haja Mydin opined that there is a risk of an increase in cases and a new wave with the 15th General Election (GE15) just around the corner, what more with the recent relaxation of rules on the usage of face masks.
"If we look at the Singapore, the number of cases went up and then stabilised.
"This is partly due to the characteristic of XBB that appears to evade our immune system. The number of critical cases does not appear to have significantly increased in Singapore which is reassuring to some degree.”
However, he added that it is a reminder that we should do what we can to reduce exposure and risk including being updated with vaccines and wearing masks where necessary.
"I think it is very important that we employ good judgement when deciding on the risk of exposure. Some situations such as indoor or poorly ventilated rooms or public events with lots of people in close proximity (both of which are likely to increase with election campaigning) should lead us to wear masks,” Dr Helmy advised.