The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said the variants are likely to drive up cases in the coming weeks to months in the European region.
There is no evidence yet that BQ.1 is linked with increased severity compared with the circulating Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, European officials said, but warned it may evade some immune protection, citing laboratory studies in Asia. In the US, weekly cases have been falling recently, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .