Coronavirus: XBB may become dominant strain in Hong Kong, health expert says, pointing to Singapore’s explosion of cases
- But Professor Ivan Hung says population has strong level of immunity against coronavirus subvariants, like XBB, which derive from commonly found local strains.
- Hong Kong has logged 140 cases of XBB strain since first infection was reported in city on October 10
The highly transmissible XBB could become the next dominant strain of Covid-19 in Hong Kong, but the population’s level of hybrid immunity should stave off severe illnesses, health experts have said.
The city has recorded 140 XBB infections since an overseas traveller became the first known carrier on October 10, but the number still pales beside other cases involving dominant strains in the city, such as BA.4 or BA.5. They accounted for 95.1 per cent of local cases over the past two weeks, compared with less than 0.1 per cent involving XBB.
“XBB could be the next dominant strain in Hong Kong,” said Professor Ivan Hung Fan-ngai, a top infectious disease expert at the University of Hong Kong. “Nevertheless, XBB is a recombinant of BA 2.75 and 2.10.1. Most people in Hong Kong have been infected with Omicron BA.2 or BA.5 before, plus [they have] a very high vaccination rate. Therefore, [they have] very high hybrid immunity.”