BA.5 is finally fading—sublineages BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 rise from variant stew
Enlarge / Transmission electron micrograph of a variant strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (UK B.1.1.7), isolated from a patient sample and cultivated in cell culture. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. (credit: Getty | BSIP)
New omicron coronavirus sublineages are finally threatening BA.5's dominance, as many experts fear the US is on the cusp of a winter wave.
For months, BA.5 has reigned in the US and worldwide. The hypertransmissible omicron subvariant rose up early in the summer to elbow out previous subvariants BA.2 and BA.2.12.1, which had themselves displaced the original omicron strain, BA.1, that swept the world at the start of the year.
But amid BA.5's months-long rule, hundreds of other sublineages have been stewing in the background, gaining new mutations. Of the legions of new viruses, the most concerning stem from BA.5 and BA.2. Many have seemed to independently converge on similar sets of mutations that allow the virus to better skirt strengthening immune responses, generated as more people get infections, vaccinations, and boosters.