Is the COVID Omicron XBB variant deadlier than Delta variant?

Hyderabad: Social media users are circulating a message claiming that the COVID-19 Omicron XBB variant, which was discovered in August 2022, is five times deadlier than the Delta variant.

Similar posts can be seen here and here. NewsMeter received the same on WhatsApp as well.

The viral post claims, “Of course, COVID-Omicron XBB is 5 times more virulent and has a higher death rate than the Delta variant. The condition takes a shorter time to reach extreme severity, sometimes without obvious symptoms.”

Fact Check

NewsMeter found the claim to be misleading as the post is old and there is no official update on the same yet.

Through our initial search, we found the same test message was viral a year ago in 2022 as well. This indicates that the viral message has nothing to do with the recent surge in Covid cases of news JN 1 in India, especially in Kerala.

Moreover, according to an article by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) published dated 16th December 2022, ‘New Omicron subvariant XBB does not appear to have immune escape with BA.5, meaning individuals who were previously infected with BA.5 will maintain their immunity against the new subvariant. New analyses also show all subvariants of Omicron appear to be less severe than previous variants.’ This refutes and dismisses the warning in the viral message of the new COVID-Omicron XBB variant being five times deadlier than the Delta variant.

Addressing the situation and chaos in Singapore, the article states, ‘analyses suggest there’s no immune escape with BA.5‘.

However, the Centre issues advisory to States given a recent upsurge in COVID-19 cases and the detection of the first case of JN.1 variant in India. It further lists certain guidelines such as:

• Considering the upcoming festive season, States were advised to put in place requisite public health measures and other arrangements to minimize the risk of an increase in transmission of the disease by adherence to the maintenance of respiratory hygiene.

• States were urged to ensure effective compliance with the detailed operational guidelines for revised surveillance strategy for COVID-19 as has been shared by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

• States asked to monitor and report District-wise Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases in all health facilities regularly including in the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) portal, for detecting the early rising trend of cases.

• States were advised to ensure adequate testing in all the districts as per COVID-19 testing guidelines and maintain the recommended share of RT-PCR and Antigen tests.

• States were encouraged to increase the number of RT-PCR tests and send positive samples for genome sequencing to Indian SARS COV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) laboratories to enable timely detection of new variants, if any, in the country.

• States to ensure active participation of all public and private health facilities in the drill being conducted by the Union Health Ministry, to take stock of their preparedness and response capacities.

• States also to promote community awareness to seek their continued support in managing COVID-19, including adherence to respiratory hygiene.

Taking it to X, the Ministry of Health refuted the claim calling it fake and misleading.

Lastly, we could not find any evidence to back the claim. Hence, the claim is old and fabricated.