XE Variant: New COVID Strain May be More Contagious Than BA.2 Subvariant, WHO Says

Nbc Chicago ^ | 04/02/2022 | Nbc Chicago

[ChicagoConservative27]

The more contagious omicron subvariant BA.2 has become the dominant COVID-19 strain in the U.S., but international health experts are putting an increased focus on a new hybrid variant that may even be more infectious.

The XE variant is a recombinant, meaning it is comprised of genetic material from two other strains, which in this case are BA.1, the original strain of omicron, and BA.2, known as "stealth omicron."

According to an epidemiological update published March 29 by the World Health Organization, estimates show XE is 10% more transmissible than BA.2, however the findings require further confirmation.

[Keyhopper]

I whole heartily agree! If Covid 19 was as bad as they claimed the southern border would’ve had the military on it with orders to shoot anything that moves

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

--- "The “midterm variant”.

Isn't it fascinating how the "breathless" announcements keep coming?

All for an "official" PANDEMIC with a 0.078 percent mortality rate globally after twenty-seven months of media hysteria and government malfeasance alongside a growing fascism.

It's almost as if the pandemic were politics.... /S

[Owen]

>>There is no scenario where this virus morphs into something that can kill 50% of humans on Earth.
>>

Well, that settles it, then. A declaration of no scenario.

The odds are essentially 50/50 variants are more deadly vs less deadly. Each mutation.

If a person 65-74 gets infected, his odds of being dead in 2-3 weeks are 5%. Higher for 75-84. And my recall is about 35% odds for 85+.

Already pretty close to 50% for the 85 yr olds. So all we need is a mutation to push down in age, and then another to multiply deaths maybe X5. X5 is I guess no scenario.

[Allegra]

There actually is a scenario where this virus, along with most other respiratory viruses, fizzle out - focusing on basic health measures like controlling obesity, adequate Vitamin D levels and educating the populace on natural anti-viral supplements. But there’s no money in that, so que sera, sera.

Exactly. These Faucis who are desperately clinging to the Covid gloom and doom fantasies are pathetic.

[Allegra]

Already pretty close to 50% for the 85 yr olds. So all we need is a mutation to push down in age, and then another to multiply deaths maybe X5. X5 is I guess no scenario.

Desperately clinging. Desperately hoping. That’s just sick. 🙄

[Rebelbase]

LOL. Perfect.

[ronnie raygun]

right on time for the midterms

[usconservative]

I just got over Omicron BA.2 ... I had the original Covid-19 in March 2020

For most people, Omicron BA.2 is going to be the equivalent of a severe cold.

For me it was more "difficult" beause of my genetic condition. Sill, made it, am fully recovered and for the most part it felt like a severe cold.

[Go_Raiders]

Extraordinary claims require at least some type of source. You provide none. Here are mine:

First, odds are not 50/50 more deadly versus less deadly. In fact almost all mutations result in complete failure of the virus - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2871823/

Second, your ‘recollection’ of infection fatality rates is farcical - https://www.acsh.org/news/2020/11/18/covid-infection-fatality-rates-sex-and-age-15163 (When there were no effective treatments or vaccines, early in the pandemic, the rate for 80+ year olds was 8.3%)

In March 2021 (pre-vaccine) the CASE fatality rate for 85 year olds was 10% - https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/covid-pandemic-mortality-risk-estimator (typically 90% of infections do not become reported cases)

For omicron (post vaccine), it’s closer to 2% CASE fatality rate - https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/explained/300555559/covid19-why-elderly-are-dying-with-omicron-at-disproportionately-high-rates

To sum up, despite your best cheerleading efforts for the virus, the actual numbers indicate the virus not being nearly as deadly as you present. And the trend is definitely not your friend.

This is after spending 20 minutes sifting through the panic porn to get to something approaching actual facts. If I had the time to devote to this, I’m confident you would be even more embarrassingly wrong.

Sell crazy someplace else. Where all stocked up here.

[Bob434]

thank you for taking the time and citing actual facts-

[Owen]

You did not read your studies carefully.

Mutation effects described to statistically increase the successful (numerous) variants over unsuccessful are always laid out with the key preface you seem to have missed — “over the long term.” A 50% population killing mutation will indeed reduce virion count and thus be labelled unsuccessful, because over the long term it will have fewer hosts. This lack of success doesn’t appear until after the deed is done. Note, again, delta was deadlier than the original. Hence, a mutation that didn’t conform to this badly read theory of lesser effects.

As for the 85+ numbers, give me a moment, I saw this recently:

Voila — https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-021-06450-8 recent report out of China (Aug 2021), outlining original strain numbers. Since the point is how much mutation is needed to get to 50%, this was the study I recalled. It is original strain and that’s the baseline of mutation. It was in Wuhan, of course, with age 70+ CFR of 28.6%. The details showed a tendency for worse older, also of course. Eyeballed a graph as I recall. 85+ 35ish%. Why would it not?

Look, first of all everyone can walk around and think unicorns exist beneath rainbows. But for God’s sake be consistent. Why hunt down studies you aren’t going to understand? Just ignore anything that suggests anyone has died of Covid or ever will die of it. You’ll be happier. Crazys are often happy.

[ballplayer]

Will hit the end of October,just need to know how long it takes to print millions of ballots for the democrats for the midterms

[usconservative]

Right on on time for the mask mandate not to end on planes on April 18th.

Yep. Less than 60 days to my trip to Alaska and here we go again. I'm so sick of this shat.

Am I gonna get the China Virus again with this new genetically engineered and released "variant?"

Are we all becoming seasoning for the coming space alien invasion?

[Go_Raiders]

You don’t get it. At all.

In the IMMEDIATE term, any given mutation in a virus is far more likely to be less dangerous. Not guaranteed, just far more likely. Any fool can figure out that’s why we still have a human race.

Viruses like Ebola and Marburg are the exception, not the rule.

And LOL OMG you still don’t know the difference between CASE fatality rate and INFECTION fatality rate.

CASES are symptomatic, and in the study YOU REFERENCE were ALREADY HOSPITALIZED when they were enrolled. - “...we enrolled consecutively hospitalized patients over 70 yr with COVID-19 between January 20 and February 15, 2020”

Why don’t you “recall” the fatality rate for patients on ventilators for 30 days and then assume that applies to everyone who isn’t even symptomatic? You could get a much scarier number that way.

[Owen]

There is no difference in the early Wuhan data because rampant testing was not underway. People got sick. They sought treatment. They died. Absent rampant testing case rates are the same as infection rates.

The reason you look at these very early data streams is there were no improvements in treatment, certainly no vax, and no particular efforts at isolation.

Look, this is all beyond you. Just be happy. I’ll leave you with this item:

What is the single parameter most associated with death in any multi variate regression application of the ANOVA tools?

Answer: well here’s what it is not. Comorbidities. Not that because nearly all old have them. Strain. Delta was worse than the original, and for some reason you don’t see the significance of that, mutation wise. But no matter, the answer is — infection dose.

At moment of infection, the more virions into the lungs the more likely you die. It is the most important of all variables. It is why infection and cases are the same for what we are examining in original strain. A person infected with a non lethal dose doesn’t die. This is not rocket science.

It’s one of the more interesting things in the world of epidemiology. Tetanus. There is zero recovered immunity. There is only vax. The reason for this is the level of danger is so extreme. A dose sufficient to generate immunity kills. Simply that. If a person doesn’t die from tetanus, they are not immune. The dose wasn’t high enough to trigger immune reaction.

[Go_Raiders]

First paragraph - childish gibberish. I won’t bother reading the rest because your ignorance might be contagious.

You can reply if you like continuously putting that ignorance on display for others, but I’m done with this thread and with you.