The new strain of coronavirus XBB.1.5, which was discovered in 29 countries, has not yet been recorded in Ukraine.
This is reported by the Ministry of Health.
Laboratory and epidemiologic studies are currently ongoing to determine to what extent XBB.1.5 is more serious than other circulating subvariants.
The Ministry of Health notes that the XVV.1.5 strain was first detected in the United States in October 2022. According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, it is already second only to the original Omicron subtype, or 40% of all confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in the US.
The Ministry of Health emphasizes that vaccination is the main means of protecting against the severe course of the disease due to the coronavirus and potentially new sub-variants.
According to the agency, there are about eight million doses of vaccines of three types in Ukraine: single-dose Johnson&Johnson, two-dose Pfizer (child and adult forms) and CoronaVac. The vaccination course includes one dose of Johnson&Johnson vaccine or two doses of another vaccine available in Ukraine. To extend protection, booster vaccination should be done: the first — after 5 months, the second — after 4.
Since the start of the vaccination campaign, 15.4 million Ukrainians have received two doses of the vaccine against COVID-19. About 12.4 million did not receive the first booster shot.