The new, more contagious COVID subvariant XBB.1.5 that's believed to be New England's most dominant strain of the virus has acquired a dramatic nickname: 'the Kraken.'
XBB.1.5 accounts for a whopping 71% of all COVID-19 casesIn an effort to keep flu and COVID cases down, some school districts have asked students to mask up after returning from holiday break. The move is temporary and is only a suggestion, not a requirement.
"The variant numbers in the CDC tracker are models. They are estimates and they aren't always right. And they may be subject to bias, especially during holiday times," Doron said.Tufts Medical Center's Dr. Shira Doronover the last several weeks, Boston doctors aren't going so far as to call this a surge. And they aren't sounding the alarm over the latest subvariant.
In a tweet earlier this week, Gregory stressed the nickname was"informal." Previous variants have also been given nicknames like the"nightmare" or"scrabble" variants as the virus continually mutates.
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