(NewsNation) — As a recent COVID-19 subvariant that some medical experts have dubbed a potential “nightmare” is quickly spreading in China, the U.S. must take notice.
Dr. Corey Herbert of the LSU School of Medicine said the best bet against infection is to “wash up, mask up, separate, and vaccinate” — a mantra he has repeated for the past 2 1/2 years.
Herbert also spoke about the recent emergence of the variant, the attitude of Americans toward public health safety measures, and travel restrictions in the interview in the player above.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 accounted for 40.5% of total cases in the week ending Dec. 31, overtaking the BQ.1.1 subvariant that accounted for 33.2% of cases in the week ending Dec. 24. The prevalence of XBB.1.5 has doubled since last week, when it accounted for 21.7% of cases.