Just as the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced the classification of the new COVID-19 subvariant, JN.1, as a 'variant of interest', social media users shared posts listing the symptoms of the XBB subvariant of COVID-19.
What does it say?: The claim makes several statements about the XBB subvariant of the Omicron variant's effects and spread.
It says that those infected with this variant will not exhibit cough and fever as symptoms.
Patients may have new symptoms, such as aches, loss of appetite, and pneumonia.
Claiming that tests for this variant often show false negative results, it adds that XBB is "five times more toxic" than the Delta variant of coronavirus.
Speaking to The Quint regarding the same claim in December 2022, Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, physician and epidemiologist, who has extensively worked on vaccines and health systems, said, "XBB is a BA.2 subvariant and is not very different from previous variants of Omicron."
More virulent than Omicron and 'deadlier' than Delta?: Those infected by Omicron variant will "maintain their immunity" against the XBB subvariant, a COVID-19 insights blog post by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation's (IHME) read.
Dr Lahariya called the XBB subvariant "just like any other (Omicron) variant and said that there was "nothing to worry about."
As per a statement by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), there was no report in "increase in severity of disease" and was "mild like with other Omicron sub-lineages" as observed in Indian patients.
Regarding reinfections: Dr Lahariya told The Quint, that reinfections would not "alter anything" in people who had already been exposed to or infected by the Omicron variant, and that there was "nothing to worry about."
The WHO had issued a statement regarding the XBB subvariant in October 2022, which mentioned that there was no"substantial difference in disease severity for XBB infections."
However, early evidence suggested that those who had first been infected before the Omicron variant's spread would be at a higher risk of reinfection.
Were the reinfections severe?: Dr Lahariya told us that the XBB subvariant was "not very different from previous variants of Omicron," adding that for people who had never been infected by the coronavirus, "for them any variant could be dangerous."
And the symptoms?: Referring to the viral post, Dr Lahariya said, "The text says "no cough, no fever," but that is true for all variants of Omicron for vaccinated, previously exposed populations. No difference in that for XBB or any other variant."
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) calls the message 'fake': On it's X (formerly Twitter) account, the MoHFW shared a post addressing the viral message, calling it "fake" and "misleading."
More on the JN.1 subvariant: The newest subvariant of the coronavirus, JN.1, is yet another mutation of the COVID-19 virus, which is said to be "more infectious than previously identified Omicron subvariants."
India has a total of 3,420 active COVID-19 cases as on 23 December, with four deaths being attributed to the JN.1 variant.
The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Mansukh Mandaviya, chaired a virtual high-level meeting with health ministers of all states, to assess COVID-19 preparedness on 20 December.
After the meeting, he suggested that mock drills be conducted across hospitals every three months and that while it was important to be alert, there was "no need to panic."
The Ministry also released an advisory on 18 December, asking states to put public health measures in place and make arrangements to minimise the spread of the infection, in view of the upcoming holidays.
Conclusion: The viral text which makes alarmist claims surrounding the XBB subvariant, at a time when a new variant called JN.1 is causing infections, is misleading.
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