Should Alabama Be Worried About New COVID Variant?

A few weeks ago, I thought I had the flu and was very nervous.

I can't recall the last time I had the flu, and all I could think about was possibly infecting my family.

After aggressively taking medicine and drinking orange juice, my sickness was up and down but it felt like it would come back stronger after a few days of feeling better.

That was the scary part for me.

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I'd go from feeling better and then a few days later, it's like it never went away.

After doing some research on my symptoms, I came across something I never knew existed.

did you know there was a new COVID variant on the rise in the United States?

According to the Washington Post, a new variant, XBB.1.5, is quickly becoming the dominant strain in parts of the United States because of a potent mix of mutations that makes it easier to spread broadly, including among those who have been previously infected or vaccinated.

I'm not one to get overly nervous about something small so I had to check the numbers.

The new variant is called XBB.1.5.

The Washington Post states that More than 70 percent of cases in the Northeast are believed to be XBB.1.5.and at the start of December, the cases in the U.S. were barely at 2 percent. By the first week in January, they were more than 27 percent.

The Washington Post spoke with a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Pittsburgh to see how this virus evolved.

Professor Vaughn Cooper said. “The way it evolved, let’s be straight, is because people were infected by multiple viruses at the same time.”

After the way the initial COVID variants swept the nation, the spike in cases has me a little concerned.

I know I'll be extra careful while out and I'll be sure t take my vitamins with this new XBB.1.5 variant going around.