Omicron subvariant BQ.1 detected in Rio de Janeiro

According to municipal Health Secretary Daniel Soranz, the subvariant may be related to the increase in the number of cases seen in recent weeks, Agencia Brasil reports.

«It is a subvariant that has no sign of greater severity than other subvariants, but it deserves the attention of the population that has not yet been vaccinated. People who have not taken the booster dose should get it, because the vaccine protects against the subvariant, avoiding hospitalization and death.»

In Rio, 25 percent of the adult population did not receive the first booster dose of the vaccine against COVID -19. The second dose was given to 34.7 percent of those over 18.

Testing

The State Health Secretariat recommended that all 92 municipalities in Rio state expand testing for COVID -19, due to the increase in the number of cases.

«An analysis of the last 15 days conducted by the state drug regulator pointed out that the positivity rate of RT-PCR and antigen testing for COVID -19 has increased. The RT-PCR rate went from 3 to 7 percent and the antigen rate, from 5 to 16 percent,» he said.