BQ1.1, BQ.1 Omicron variants make up more US COVID cases than BA.5 - CDC
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COVID-19 cases in the US attributed to the BQ1.1 and BQ.1 Omicron "escape variants" outnumber those attributed to the BA.5 variant, the once-dominant strain, according to CDC data.
As of the week ending Nov. 12, BQ1.1 and BQ.1 accounted for, respectively, 24.1% and 20.1% of cases. The figure for BA.5 is 29.7%.

For comparison, for the week ended Oct. 15, BA.5 were 69.7% of cases, while BQ1.1 and BQ.1 accounted for, respectively, 3.5% and 5.2% of cases.
While BQ1.1 and BQ.1 are related to the BA.5 variant, the bivalent COVID booster shots currently being administered are targeted against BA.4 and BA.5. It is unclear how effective the boosters are against BQ1.1 and BQ.1.
COVID vaccine makers: Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX), and Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX).
The UK on Wednesday authorized the Pfizer (PFE)/BioNTech (BNTX) bivalent booster again BA.4 and BA.5.