Another “ultra-resistant” strain of coronavirus have been discovered by researchers within the borders of Thailand, who are already sounding the alarm. These subvariants BF.7, BN.1, and BA.2.75.2 were identified during genomic surveillance in studies conducted by the Center for Medical Genomics of Ramathibodi Hospital, and subvariants BQ.1.1, BA.2.3.30 and XBB. All these are “variations on the theme” of omicron – however, experts emphasize their high survival rate and resistance to vaccines – and predict that by the New Year these strains will take “dominant positions” around the world.
All of these strains have so far been found in Thai citizens, but it is clear that they are already spreading – at least the XBB strain was found in three passengers from Thailand already in Hong Kong. All these strains come from the Omicron variant group, which previously spread easily around the world. These strains also show high prevalence, with 29 cases of the XBB strain being detected in Hong Kong to date, 24 of which were detected at the entrance to the international airport. Most of those infected were from Singapore, where the number of Covid cases has almost quadrupled in the last week and is projected to double or triple shortly.
“International airports are stepping up overall controls,” Thai media added. Experts fear that these sub-variants will soon overtake the BA.5 sub-variant as the dominant strain. Experts also say that the strains BA.5.2.1.7 and BF.7, which are already spreading in Asia, Europe, and North America, are of the most significant concern. The fact is that they are probably not affected by antibodies of either vaccines or previous “variations” of covid.