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We introduced the new ‘Kraken’ covid variant last week. Now experts are predicting it’ll probably become the dominant variant throughout the UK this year, along with another omicron mutation called CH.1.1. What’s the story? Read on.
Two new covid strains will dominate the UK in 2023
The so-called Kraken is already surging dramatically in China. It is overtaking the USA too. It has turned up in South Africa, Romania, Gibraltar and more, and scientists are saying it will dominate the UK before long. The omicron variant CH.1.1 is on the up as well.
At the moment most UK covid cases are the BQ.1 variant and its sublineages. But as Dr Meera Chand, Director of Clinical and Emerging Infections at the UKHSA, said:
"Through our genomic surveillance we continue to see evolution of variants in the Omicron family. UKHSA is constantly monitoring the situation and working to understand the implications for public health. Vaccination remains our best defence against future COVID-19 waves, so it is still as important as ever that people come forward and take up all the doses for which they are eligible as soon as possible."
UK covid infections have recently hit the highest level since mid-July 2023. The Office of National Statistics says around 2.9 million of us had it over Christmas, one in twenty and double the number we had in the UK in early December 2022.
Apparently infection rates are up across the entire UK right now. In Northern Ireland the levels are the highest since March 2022. There are hot-spots in the North East of England, Yorkshire and the Humber, the East Midlands, the East, South East and South West. And it looks like there’s a high number of cases in younger children at the moment, as well as people aged 50 or more.
Does Kraken come with a bigger risk of even longer long covid?
The Kraken variant might be less severe, but it is also more contagious. There are early hints the variant might come with a higher risk of not just Long Covid, but even longer covid – with symptoms maybe lasting for years. We don’t know yet.
What about CH.1.1?
CH.1.1 is one of the most immune-evasive variants of all. In some countries it has managed to hoover up the Delta variant’s R mutation. There are concerns this might make it more pathogenic, in other words more dangerous. Again we’re not sure yet.
The good news?
Experts say the Kraken strain arrived when two different strains of BA2 Omicron sub-variants combined. Despite being tipped to dominate the UK, Kraken hasn’t been labelled a variant of concern by the UK yet. The WHO it might have a ‘growth advantage’. There’s no evidence it will be more harmful than previous sub-variants. Let’s hope it stays that way.