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Three years into the pandemic, the coronavirus continues to impress virologists with its swift evolution. A young version, known as XBB.1.5, has quickly been spreading in the United States over the past few weeks. As of Friday, the Centers for Disease Control estimated that it made up 72 percent of new cases in the Northeast and 27.6 percent of cases across the country. (Zimmer, 1/7)

More than 70 percent of cases in the Northeast are believed to be XBB.1.5. While there is no evidence so far that XBB.1.5 is more virulent than its predecessors, a recent swirl of misinformation linking the rise of new variants to vaccination has cast a spotlight on this latest strain and raised concern among some health experts that it could further limit booster uptake. (Nirappil and Weber, 1/9)

In CDC tracking of infections as of Jan 4, the 7-day average for new daily cases is 67,243, up 16.2% compared to the previous 7-day average. Over the same period, the 7-day average for new hospital admission rose 16.1%, and deaths increased 8.3%. Likewise, test positivity is increasing and is at 16%. (Schnirring, 1/6)

The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to immunocompromised Americans on Friday that the agency does not anticipate the drug Evusheld will effectively neutralize XBB.1.5, the coronavirus omicron subvariant that is currently estimated to account for 28% of circulating variants in the U.S. (Vaziri, 1/6)

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Friday that AstraZeneca’s preventative monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 is likely ineffective against the XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant due to its similarity to other mutations of the virus that are also not neutralized by the treatment. In a statement, the FDA said it “does not anticipate that Evusheld will neutralize XBB.1.5.” (Choi, 1/6)