CDC confirms Kraken COVID-19 variant circulating in BC

Officials confirmed Tuesday that a new subvariant of COVID-19 that’s sweeping the US is already circulating in BC.

According to the BC Centre for Disease Control, five cases of the XBB.1.5 variant, known as the Kraken strain, have been detected in the province.

XBB.1.5 is a subvariant of Omicron that was initially detected in October 2022, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said in an update Wednesday. It’s been seen in 25 countries to date.

“It’s on the increase in Europe and the US,” he said.

LIVE: Media briefing on global health issues with @DrTedros https://t.co/tGqIWgzdIw

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 4, 2023

It was responsible for 40% of new COVID-19 cases in the US last week, according to data from the US CDC. It’s especially prevalent in the northeastern states, accounting for 75% of new cases last week.

Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, addressed the rapid rise of the Kraken variant over the holidays on Twitter Wednesday. He said Kraken binds more tightly to our ACE receptors, which may explain why it’s more contagious. He added it’s not known yet whether it’s more severe and suggested people get their bivalent booster if they haven’t already.

How much protection do vaccines or recent infections offer?

What we currently know:

If you had an infection before July OR

Your last vaccine was before bivalent update in September

Your protection against an XBB.1.5 infection is probably not that great

4/n

— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@AshishKJha46) January 4, 2023

The variant’s name follows the trend of naming subvariants after mythical creatures. Other Omicron subvariants have been dubbed Typhon, Cerberus, and Gryphon.