A new COVID-19 variant is getting a lot of attention after it became dominant in the Northeastern United States. But XBB.1.5, as it’s known, is not yet the dominant strain in Northeast Ohio or the Midwest.
Local physicians agree, however, the new variant is likely to become the dominant strain in Northeast Ohio in the coming weeks.
COVID-19 community levels have remained relatively unchanged in recent weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Levels in much of Northeast Ohio are at the medium level, with Lorain, Mahoning and Trumbull counties rated as areas of high transmission.
The CDC has detected XBB.1.5 in its Midwest region, which includes Ohio, where it makes up only 6% of cases.
XBB.1.5 is spreading across the country, but Ohio is not at the front of this wave, said Dr. Amy Edwards, infectious disease specialist at University Hospitals. That means Northeast Ohioans have time to take preventative measures like masking.
“I always wear an N95 mask when I'm down in the emergency room getting exposed to all these kids, coming in with their hacking coughs and things like that. And, you know, by the end of a six-hour shift, you should have little marks... because it should be sitting up against your skin," Edwards said.
N95 masks should be pressed into your face so that air can’t leak out, she said. Otherwise, the mask is not effective.
The emergence XBB.1.5, which is highly contagious and adept at evading the body’s defenses, has hospital watchers bracing for a possible increase in infections and subsequently —hospitalizations.
Health care workers in Northeast Ohio have been battle hardened by repeated waves of disease, Edwards said.
“Here at Rainbow, we just came off of a double surge," she said. "We had our RSV surge followed right behind it with an influenza surge that we're only just now coming out of. And so we're kind of like, ‘bring it,’ at this point.”
XBB.1.5 is a hybrid variant that combines characteristics from other Omicron sublineages, said Dr. Dan Rhoads, the section head of microbiology at the Cleveland Clinic.
Although this variant has made headlines for its stunning rise to dominance in the Northeastern U.S., it’s still the same virus, and we know how to fight it, he said.
“It's the same virus with just subtle changes. Those subtle changes can make a big difference in how our bodies see the virus or how well it can cause infections," Rhoads said. "But the virus is very much the same virus, just a new and improved version of it.”
That means that the same tools used to stop the spread of COVID – staying home when you’re sick, wearing masks and getting vaccinated – remain our best bets now, Rhoads said.
