Omicron’s descendants are characterized by being more infectious, that is, they infect more people.
Covid
Fuente: Duty
A new subvariant of omicron (covid-19) is circulating in Bolivia, announced Max Enríquez, Vice Minister of Epidemiological Surveillance, this Friday, August 11. He told BTV that it is certain that the XBB 1.15 subvariant is circulating, but that they are analyzing which is the second one.
Juan Saavedra, president of the Bolivian Society of Infectious Diseases, stated that these descendants of omicron have already been in Latin America for several monthsso its presence in Bolivia is not surprising.
Among the most important characteristics, he highlighted that these subvariants are more infectiouswhich affect a greater number of people due to a mechanism called immune escape. This means that the antibodies for having suffered from the covid or having been immunized with the initial or monovalent vaccine are not enough, they no longer protect against this variant.
Immunization with the bivalent vaccine, which protects against omicron, is indicated. Saavedra suggests that the booster doses that the Bolivian population receives be bivalent vaccines, as occurs in neighboring countries.
The infectologist pointed out that, in the case of Chile, 60% of its population has already received the fourth dose to prevent severe forms of the coronavirus. In Bolivia, he indicated, 60% have received the second dose, while the percentages of the third and fourth are very low.
Like Enríquez, Saavedra recommended continuing with biosecurity measures: use of a chinstrap, hand disinfection, avoiding closed places and physical distancing.
The infectologist added that these same measures help prevent other infections that are present in the country: influenza, coqueluche and meningitis, since they are also transmitted through the air.
2023-08-12 11:28:45
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