'Stratus' COVID-19 variant drives surge in infections in California | Details

California is witnessing a surge in COVID-19 infections driven by a new Omicron subvariant named 'Stratus' or 'XFG'. This comes as reports suggest the Trump administration is planning to pull all Covid vaccines from the market. Anti-vaxer health chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also slowed down the approval of new jabs. According to public health officials, the number of positive cases has seen a growth of 6.3 per cent since last month. Most cases are being reported from the Los Angeles and San Jose metro areas. They added that hospitalisations have also gone up, from 1.6 per 100,000 people to 3 per 100,000 since early July, or from 6.3 to 11 for patients aged 65 and over. Also Read: America to lose COVID vaccine? Trump, RFK Jr. planning to pull COVID vaccine from US market 'within months': Report

The 'XFG' or 'Stratus', a subvariant of the Omicron virus, is responsible for the surge in cases. Public health expert and former Marin County public health officer Matt Willis wrote in a blog post, "California’s in the middle of a Covid-19 wave, and statewide rates are among the highest in the nation." The US Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve updated COVID-19 vaccines. It has already been stated that it would do so only for the high-risk groups. Once the FDA issues new rulings, the older vaccines that are approved for everyone will become inaccessible. So people are being urged to get them while they still can.

What is the Stratus Covid variant?

“Updated Covid-19 vaccines have been delayed this year due to federal policy changes, and we are awaiting FDA licensure of this season’s products,” the LA County Department of Public Health told The Los Angeles Times. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics suggest that about 130 people are dying from COVID-19 each week in the country. Doctors say that the Stratus variant is driving the surge in cases, and the numbers are expected to grow in the coming weeks. Stratus was first detected in Southeast Asia in January and reached the US in March. By late June, it accounted for up to 14 per cent of cases in the US. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is a hybrid of two omicron strains - LF.7 and LP.8.1.2. The risk posed by the variant has been described as "low".