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Winter is coming: New Covid-19 variants prompt alert for illness season

Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya holds review meeting as experts call for continued vigil

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4 min read Last Updated : Oct 19 2022 | 12:56 PM IST

New variants of Covid-19 infecting people in winter when illness from influenza and pneumonia are reported may cause hospitalisations to rise, experts have said as they called for continued vigilance against the pandemic.

BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, descendants of Omicron’s BA.5 sub-variant, have dangerous “qualities or characteristics that could evade some of the interventions we have", said Dr Anthony Fauci, America’s top infectious disease expert, in a TV interview recently, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 both have dangerous “qualities or characteristics that could evade some of the interventions we have", he said, adding that one should not declare victory from Covid-19 "too prematurely".

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