New Omicron subvariant accounts for over 40 pct of new COVID-19 cases in U.S.

Health workers administer COVID-19 vaccine shots to local residents in Los Angeles, the United States, on Dec. 17, 2022. (Xinhua)

The XBB variant has been driving up cases in parts of Asia, drawing concerns for its high infectiousness.

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- New Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is estimated to account for 40.5 percent of COVID-19 cases in the United States in the week ending Dec. 31, nearly doubling from the previous week, according to data updated Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

XBB.1.5 made up 21.7 percent of the total cases in the previous week ending Dec. 24.

Recombinants of the BA.2 variant, XBB and XBB.1.5 together accounted for 44.1 percent of the total cases in the country in the week ending Dec. 31, CDC data showed.

The XBB variant has been driving up cases in parts of Asia, drawing concerns for its high infectiousness.

Another two Omicron subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 accounted for about 45 percent of new COVID-19 cases in the United States in the latest week, CDC data showed.