In the ever-evolving landscape of COVID-19 variants, two descendants of the BA.5 strain could potentially overtake it as the dominant version of the virus circulating in the United States.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Nowcast,” released Friday, the BQ.1.1 subvariant is now responsible for 24.1% of COVID cases in the United States, while the BQ.1 subvariant is responsible for 20.1% of cases.
Those both represent a significant jump from the previous week, when neither subvariant had yet hit the 20% plateau, according to CDC estimates.
The BA.5 subvariant, which has been the dominant strain of COVID in the United States since early July, dropped from 41.1% of cases to 29.7% this week, signaling that its long-standing reign could finally be nearing an end.
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Another COVID subvariant, BN.1, also appeared on the radars of the CDC this week, making up an estimated 4.3% of cases in the U.S.
Officials say that the new strain is most prevalent in the western United States, making up more than 6% of cases in an area that includes Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada.
The news comes as cases begin to slowly trend upward as northern residents begin to spend more time indoors. According to the latest CDC estimates from Nov. 9, an estimated 288,989 new COVID cases per week are currently being reported in the U.S. That represents an increase of nearly 11% in the last two weeks, according to officials.
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In Illinois, cases have largely flattened in recent weeks after an increase in October, but officials remain concerned that cases could rise with more residents spending time indoors and around loved ones during the holiday season.
As of Monday, Illinois is averaging 1,895 new cases of COVID per day.
