XBB.1.16 has been detected in China. Do we have enough "new coronavirus antibodies" in our bodies?

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#XBB.1.16 strain#

Becoming the focus of public attention

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Information released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention on April 15 showed that the XBB.1.16 strain has entered my country.

Today we will learn about:

What is the XBB.1.16 strain?

What is the infection situation in our country?

Do I need to be vaccinated again?

XBB.1.16 strain

The World Health Organization (WHO) first discovered the XBB.1.16 strain in January this year and listed it as a " new variant virus under surveillance (VUM)" on March 22.

It is reported that XBB.1.16 is called Arcturus, also known as "Arctus", and is a recombinant or hybrid variant of BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 , both of which are descendants of the Omicron variant BA.2 .

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In 29 countries and regions including India, Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, the number of XBB.1.16 infection cases is showing a rapid growth trend .

New strain detected

On April 15, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention released the "National Novel Coronavirus Infection Epidemic Situation", pointing out that since December 1, 2022, a total of 328 local key concern variants have been monitored, 136 new local key concern variants have been discovered, and 124 have been discovered for the first time, including 15 cases of XBB.1.16 and 2 cases of XBB.1.16.1. This is also the first detection of XBB.1.16 in China .

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At the end of March, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, technical director of the WHO's new crown, publicly stated that XBB.1.16 has an additional mutation in its spike protein, which increases its infectivity and the possibility of increased pathogenicity , that is, it has a strong immune escape ability; a study by the University of Tokyo showed that the transmission efficiency of XBB.1.16 is about 1.17 to 1.27 times higher than that of the XBB.1 and XBB.1.5 strains.

Therefore, the elderly population and patients with underlying diseases and comorbid respiratory diseases should be vigilant and take good personal protection.

Vaccinations required

On April 18, Chen Ying, head of the preventive health care department of Fangzhuang Community Health Service Center in Fengtai District, Beijing, said in an interview with a reporter from the People's Daily Health Client, "The State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism for the Novel Coronavirus Infection Epidemic recently issued the 'Vaccination Work Plan for Responding to the Recent Novel Coronavirus Infection Epidemic'. The plan clearly states that some people still need to be vaccinated at this stage."

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Chen Ying introduced, "Previously, in order to quickly build a herd immunity barrier, people over the age of three were included in the scope of the new crown vaccine . This adjustment has narrowed the scope of people who need to be vaccinated with the new crown vaccine."

The adjusted vaccination policy is:

People who are not infected and have not completed the established immunization program need to be vaccinated against COVID-19;

People who have been infected and have not completed basic immunization need to receive another dose of the new coronavirus vaccine three months after infection to strengthen the body's immune system's immunity to the new coronavirus.

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Chen Ying introduced that after entering the "Class B and Class B Management", the COVID-19 vaccination work has returned to the community health service center. The specific vaccination location, time, and vaccine types of each institution can be checked on the WeChat official account of the corresponding community health service center. There are now 15 types of COVID-19 vaccines on the market, covering 5 different technical routes. Each community has a rich reserve for the public to choose freely.

| Source of this article’s opinion:

[1].https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/LeJhWKXRKC-cHaA41z09qw

[2].https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/uaynkapC5vKVexbHqw7J6A

[3].https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/UeiVWeMl7-HH2w3ANcWTIg

[4].https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/TVTB9ekUJQysv8XvC8rncg

| Editor: Xiao Ke

| Review: Popular Science

Source | Shaanxi Science Popularization