Variant update for Ontario, Canada (Apr. 9, 2023)

A short update on variants for Ontario since most other stats are not updating over the long weekend. XBB.1.5* continues to dominate at 80% of sequences but XBB.1.9* now makes up 5% of sequences in 3rd place. 🧵 1/

The one page easier to share version of this thread can be found at: https://pingthread.com/thread/1645097893596913664

Thread by jeffgilchrist: Variant update for Ontario, Canada (Apr. 9, 2023) ... - PingThread

Variant update for Ontario, Canada (Apr. 9, 2023) A short update on variants for Ontario since most other stats are not updating over the long weekend. XBB.1.5* continues to dominate at 80% of sequences but XBB.1.9* now makes up 5% of sequences in 3rd place. 🧵1/

PingThread

The top variants circulating in Ontario right now are:
67% = XBB.1.5 "Kraken"
3.8% = XBB.1.9.1 "Hyperion"
3.1% = BQ.1.1 "Cerberus"
2.2% = XBB.1.5.7
2.2% = CH.1.1 "Orthrus"

The visualization tool for variants was created by @mike_honey_ ( https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNzE5YzczODItMDQzMS00M2EzLWFjNWYtMjg3OTY3NTNhZDM3IiwidCI6ImRjMWYwNGY1LWMxZTUtNDQyOS1hODEyLTU3OTNiZTQ1YmY5ZCIsImMiOjEwfQ%3D%3D ). 2/

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South of us in New York State they are also seeing an increase in XBB.1.9.1 "Hyperion" as well which has increased to 15.5% of sequences there ( https://twitter.com/RajlabN/status/1644918832291631104 ).

The XBB.1.16 "Arcturus" variant which has taken off in India has also been detected in New York (7.2%) along with other parts of the USA. Samples of XBB.1.16 have also been detected in Ontario but currently at lower levels (1%) for now. 3/

Raj Rajnarayanan on Twitter

“Status of the latest #COVID19 Wave in #NewYork Top circulating lineages in NY (#15DayTrends) XBB.1.5 (61.9%) XBB.1.9.1 (15.5%)👀 XBB.1.16 (7.2%)👀 XBB.1.9.2 (3.1%) XBB.1.5.4 (2.1%) XBB.1.5.1 (2.1%) XBB.2.3 (2.1%) 13/n”

Twitter
The more we allow COVID-19 to spread and mutate, the more likely it is to evade current immunity and re-infect populations. Omicron infections seem to protect less than 3 months in older adults which may be why we see spikes in hospitalization every 3 months now ( https://mstdn.science/@jeffgilchrist/110163410612460250 ). 4/
Jeff Gilchrist (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image Author Dr. Bowdish believes this helps understand why hospitalization in older adults and outbreaks in LTC now occur approximately every 3 months during the Omicron era ( https://twitter.com/MsMacrophage/status/1642862895129083905 ). Dr. Bowdish points out the take home message from the study is that hybrid immunity (vaccination + infection) provides minimal duration of protection in the LTC population but having had a recent vaccine works. 5/

mstdn.science
Even more reason why citizens need to push their governments to update air quality laws to improve the infrastructure in schools, offices, and other public places indoors just like we did for clean water ( https://mstdn.science/@jeffgilchrist/109580638330581137 ). 5/
Jeff Gilchrist (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image The importance of indoor air quality #IAQ This thread looks at the impact of #cleaning indoor #air, not just from pathogens in #aerosol #particles but also from other air #pollutants linked to various health problems, and what we can do about it. #IndoorAirQuality #Ventilation #CO2 #PM25 An unrolled one-page web view for this long thread that may be easier to read or share can be found here ( https://pingthread.com/thread/1607379781892575234 ). 🧵 1/

mstdn.science
The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (@O_S_P_E) have released evidence-based guidance around indoor air quality and transmission of COVID-19 ( https://ospe.on.ca/indoor-air-quality/ ). 6/