A new variant of COVID-19, coined "Kraken," has entered Alberta. Currently, four cases have been identified in the province..However, Alberta Health spokesman Steve Buick said there is "no change in policy or in the advice we’ve received from Alberta Health."."XBB.1.5 is the latest subvariant of Omicron, which we've been responding to for the past year," Buick said in an email to the Western Standard..Buick said that Alberta's government will not be implementing any emergency measures because of the new strain. ."We’re not returning to emergency measures," Buick said. "We cannot live in a state of emergency permanently or whenever we see an increase in respiratory viruses.".Buick said he believes COVID-19 (Omicron) is still a significant issue for Albertans and the health system, but the impact is less than the province saw up to the end of 2021.."Mainly due to our high levels of vaccination, combined with protection from widespread previous exposure to Omicron," Buick said.."Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s 'good' for people to be infected with COVID-19 or any virus, but the evidence shows prior infection with COVID-19, especially with the Omicron variant, provides significant protection from severe outcomes from reinfection".The strain which entered Alberta is a mutated version of Omicron XBB, which some say was first detected in India in August..Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist at the University of Toronto has sought to calm fears over the strain.."We cannot ignore that recovery from infection coupled with vaccination provides some meaningful community-level protection," Dr. Bogoch told the DailyMail.com."Sadly, we will still likely see a corresponding rise in hospitalizations and deaths with XBB, but perhaps to a lesser extent compared to prior waves due to the community-based hybrid immunity developed during the Omicron era.".The new strain has now been spotted in at least 29 countries.."Unfortunately, places like China with under-vaccinated and vulnerable populations and relatively few people that have recovered from the prior infection will see far more significant acute manifestations of a COVID-19 outbreak, namely with healthcare systems overwhelmed and high fatality rates," Bogoch said..Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan, predicted there would not be "big changes" in the number of people falling severely ill with COVID-19 due to XBB.1.5.."We shouldn't see big changes in terms of disease severity, since infections will happen in a population that isn't immunologically naive," Dr. Rasmussen told the DailyMail.com."XBB.1.5 is not somehow magically turbocharged to usher in our extinction. It's another evolutionary advance — which is what viruses do — and it's one that we can counter.".Symptoms of XBB.1.5 are similar to those of previous Omicron strains. Most people experience cold-like symptoms..According to the BBC, "over 40% of COVID-19 cases in the US are thought to be caused by XBB.1.5, making it the dominant strain."."At the beginning of December, it accounted for only 4% of cases, so it has quickly overtaken other versions of Omicron," the BBC reported.."COVID-19 hospital admissions have been rising in recent weeks across the US, and the government has restarted its free testing program. The UK Health Security Agency is due to release a report on variants spreading in the UK next week.".Professor Wendy Barclay from Imperial College London said XBB.1.5 has a mutation "known as F486P, which restores this ability to bind to cells while continuing to evade immunity. That makes it spread more easily.".Barclay told the BBC she expected more hospitalizations in the UK if the variant takes off, "as we expect it to do.".For now, Alberta has no plan to return to emergency measures because of the new variant.."We’ll keep adding capacity to the health system to make sure Albertans get the care they need, and encouraging people to follow public health advice, including staying up to date on their vaccinations and staying home when they’re sick," Buick said.
