(Scientific American) A new variant of the virus that causes COVID has mutations that make it more transmissible, but vaccines are still likely to protect against severe disease. A new, rapidly spreading variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, means a rise in new infections could be around the corner. And while it likely won’t skirt immunity completely, the variant could dodge some of our defenses thanks to a mutational boost. XBB.1.5—unofficially nicknamed “Kraken” by some scientists online—is an Omicron subvariant that has caught the attention of virologists in recent weeks because of its significant advantage in how fast it spreads. Research by computational virologist Trevor Bedford and his team at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle suggests XBB.1.5 currently has a reproduction number of around 1.6, meaning that every person infected by this subvariant will, on average, go on to infect about 1.6 other people.
Why COVID’s XBB.1.5 ‘Kraken’ Variant Is So Contagious
