![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/covid-strains-dubbed-grandchildren-of-omicron-spark-new-lockdown-fears/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/newspress-collage-20347203-1667819016457.jpg&description=NEW Covid strains dubbed the "Grandchildren of Omicron" have begun spreading, prompting warnings of new lockdowns from experts. The "variant soup" of strains have already been detected in Australia, China and across of Europe. A 'variant soup' of Covid strains are believed to be spreading across AustraliaCredit: Getty Aussie police responded to a number of anti-lockdown rallies last yearCredit: AFP Infectious disease physician Dr Paul Griffin said there were several subvariants he was "watching closely" - including two offshoots known as XBB and BQ. He told Aussie morning news show Sunrise: "Some have described it as a 'variant soup', because there are so many new ones at the moment. "Perhaps the two most concerning are BQ which is an offshoot of BA5, which has been detected mainly in Europe and the US, and around 10 per cent of cases globally. "And the other is XBB which has been causing problems in Singapore and India." BA.5 is a subvariant of extremely infectious Omicron that swept across the world last winter and is believed to be the source of other mutations like BF.7 and BA.5.1.7 currently hitting China. Dr Griffin said the variants looked "a bit" more infectious than previous strains. "They may also be better at evading our immune response both from past infection and from vaccination, so it certainly highlights that the pandemic is not over," he warned. The renowned doctor said though they didn't appear to cause severe disease, they still pose a danger. "For this reason, it's really important that we're up-to-date with our vaccines, including our new improved Omicron-specific booster that's now available in our country," he said. The warning comes as Australia's chief scientist Prof Paul Kelly warned the "grandchildren of Omicron" had landed. He said cases of the subvariants "certainly are rising" and warned the "future is a matter of speculation". "These are more transmissible variants, but not more severe compared with where we were 12 months ago," he sai){kind=link}
NEW Covid strains dubbed the “Grandchildren of Omicron” have begun spreading, prompting warnings of new lockdowns from experts.
The “variant soup” of strains have already been detected in Australia, China and across of Europe.
Infectious disease physician Dr Paul Griffin said there were several subvariants he was “watching closely” – including two offshoots known as XBB and BQ.
He told Aussie morning news show Sunrise: “Some have described it as a ‘variant soup’, because there are so many new ones at the moment.
“Perhaps the two most concerning are BQ which is an offshoot of BA5, which has been detected mainly in Europe and the US, and around 10 per cent of cases globally.