Two Omicron splinter variants — considered the most immune-evading strains yet to have spawned — are now officially being monitored by British health chiefs.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), tasked with fighting off viral threats, has deemed BQ.1 and XBB ‘variant designations’ due to their rapid growth over the past few weeks.
Experts fears their catalogue of mutations may enable them to better dodge protection garnered from prior infections and vaccines.
Lab tests of positive Covid swabs have detected