Coronavirus subvariant could lead to increase in infections: ECDC

A subvariant of the coronavirus, BQ.1, will become dominant in Europe sometime between mid-November and early December, the European health service ECDC expects. The dominance of BQ.1 and its sub-variant, BQ.1.1, is likely to lead to an increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the coming weeks to months.

BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 are subvariants of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which is already dominant. The subvariants are already circulating in the Netherlands, according to the so-called germ surveillance of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). They have also appeared in France, Belgium, Ireland and Italy.

According to the ECDC, the subvariants in the Netherlands were found in 6 percent of the samples about two weeks ago. In France, it was already 19 percent.

Studies from Asia show that BQ.1 can evade the immune system, according to the ECDC. The data currently available on the subvariant do not show that BQ.1 is more pathogenic than the Omicron variants that are now widely circulated (BA.4 and BA.5).

Statistics Netherlands reported on Friday that nearly 5,000 people in the Netherlands died of Covid-19 in the first half of 2022. However, there were fewer deaths in the second quarter of the year than in the first quarter.