The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed it is now tracking a new variant of concern around the U.S. known as XBB, which has grown to make up an estimated 3.1% of new infections nationwide.
"XBB, it got our attention and then was prioritized, even though it was small numbers, because it had quite a number of substitutions different from the currently circulating viruses in the [receptor-binding domain], which meant that it might be an escape variant," Smith said.
The NIH effort's scientists early on began ordering supplies to manufacture mock-ups of XBB to test how it might escape immunity in the laboratory compared to other strains. Data also now suggests the new COVID boosters will offer at least some improved protection against the strain.by Pfizer and BioNTech earlier this month, which was posted as a preprint and has yet to be peer reviewed, found their updated COVID booster looks to be effective at triggering better antibody responses against an XBB strain.
However, the company's scientists also said it was among the variants that saw the worst neutralization from their shot. "It doesn't fall off the map, but it goes down. So, you could expect some protection, but not the optimal protection," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president's chief medical adviser, said Wednesday at a White House
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