According to the Ministry of Health, ESR confirmed it has sequenced New Zealand’s first case of Omicron subvariant BQ.1.1 in a person who ‘tested positive’ for COVID-19.
BQ1.1 was also detected in South Island wastewater samples.
‘The list of new subvariants appearing within New Zealand is lengthy and growing’, said the Ministry in a statement today.
‘Many of these new subvariants are identified by their mutations, many of which are shared across several subvariants, but it can take weeks or months to determine whether these mutations will allow a subvariant to out-compete others circulating in the community. At the early stage of a new variant being identified in New Zealand, it is difficult to predict whether and when it will become established in the community.
‘So far, most Omicron variants have not demonstrated a change in severity of the disease. Early evidence overseas suggests the BQ.1.1 has a growth advantage relative to BA.5, the dominant variant currently circulating in New Zealand. In recent weeks in the Northern Hemisphere the colder weather, waning immunity, timing of last vaccinations and other behavioural factors, are likely to have contributed to an increase in BQ.1.1 cases. Evidence is still evolving as to how BQ.1.1 would compete against BA.5 in a New Zealand context and whether this could affect the level of COVID-19 circulating in the community in the coming months.’
Despite the growing body of evidence suggesting otherwise, MOH is still encouraging kiwis to get the jab. ‘Vaccines are still expected to provide robust protection against severe disease, particularly in those who have received boosters. We encourage people to get their vaccine and booster doses when they fall due.’
BQ1.1 is evolving (which means MoH does not have clear evidence).
Recommendation somewhat targets particularly those who have received boosters. Is this an admission that boosted are indeed riskier?
MoH can make recommendations and it can claim that they are following the science as usual.
Public trust in MoH has waned a lot as we can see from the booster uptake and other reported data on reinfection, hospitalisation, adverse events etc.
Personally I am not bothered.
Nope, GFY MOH????
The MoH continues with it’s hubristic anti-science groupthink. They’re without any shadow of a doubt rowing the wrong way up sh*t creek.
What. Load of Sh1t – no one believes these fools anymore ????????????????
Tell,you what guys, I will donate all my jabs and boosters to the people at the MOH so they can be EXTRA protected. ????????????????
Oh wait they don’t want mine, they will just take their virtue signalling saline shot while everyone else gets the poison. APPARENTLY Wellington had less side effects than most other cities…….hmmm seems really weird…..????
More BS from the Ministry of Truth
Covid which is the symptoms
Is in all influenza
Which mutate themselves naturally in order to survive
To say this subvariant has been isolated is an outright lie
How does one Sequence the Omicron subvariant BQ.1.1 l from sh*t?
Stuff the moh they are full of sh*t ,just like jabcinda.
Fake scientist and attention seeker, CNN stooge wannabe Baker from Otago now wants the altert system etc to be reintroduced due to the detection of new variant. This fukwit is a scare monger and starts giving his “expert” opinions to MSM propaganda when we do not know much about the variant and with the available evidence and reports nothing much to be afraid of this mutant strain. Some low life want to make a living without any moral decency. Better to beg to make a living than living this sort of low life.
He and his cohort need to be cancelled. Better still wiped out by the Gauls
Hmmmm..are these subvariants variants of a subvariant or are they subvariant variants of variants which are themselves variants of subvariants and not at all the subvariant of the original variant?
You add and subtract zero to zero in whatever manner we like, the result is still zero and not hero.
Never got the old ( non vaccine) mRNA gene therapy, won’t be getting one anytime soon or flu jab for that matter, despite 3 letters from DHB and numerous calls, texts from healthline. One call which I thought I would answer asked me if I needed help in finding a vaccination centre, that question must have been racist sexist or something, lol, I assured the caller I would not be seeking the location of one anytime soon.
Wonder if they have a jab for climate change.
Any time I hear the MoH sprout the word ;Omicron or ‘Omicron’ variant’ automatically my lie meter red light starts flashing. You see Omicron” is not a variant it is a micrometer millimeter wave activated via 5G. Only the jabbed get sick from ‘Omicron because it activates the graphene oxide in the blood from the jab sending it straight to the heart and brain. The wave is turned on between 2-4 am when there is not much internet traffic. Notice all the 5G towers around old peoples homes. Visit Grandpa or Granma fine one day and then DOA some fine morning. Anybody who is jabbed and thinks different is brain dead – because thats how they are going to end up.