CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The first case of the BQ.1 subvariant of omicron was sequenced in Mecklenburg County. Researchers in the lab at UNC Charlotte regularly sequence a handful of positive tests, reading the viruses genetic code to determine which variants are spreading.
The case of BQ.1 was sequenced last week.
“BQ.1 is the one of most concern,” Dr. Raynard Washington, Mecklenburg County Health Director, said. “I think there’s still more to learn about how it behaves if it behaves any differently. It’s certainly causing an uptick in cases in other countries.”
He said it is not cause for alarm, but health leaders are urging as many people as possible to get the new, updated COVID-19 boosters. They specifically target strains of omicron, which continue to be the most dominant in the country.
The shots have been available in the area since just after Labor Day, but demand has been low, especially when compared to demand for the first booster shot offered last year.
As of last week, anyone five or older who has completed the initial series of vaccines is eligible to get the new omicron specific shot.
“We’ve had roughly, I believe, just under 4% of our residents have gotten the bivalent booster," Washington said. "Of course, it was just approved from kids last week."
Data WCNC Charlotte’s Chloe Leshner requested from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services shows how that compares to demand for the first booster dose approved around this time last year.
In the first month it was available to the general population, 916,601 North Carolinians got their first booster dose. That’s compared to 310,334 people who got the omicron-specific shot in the first month it was available.
In total, about one third of the amount.
“The truth of the matter is there’s a lot of COVID fatigue,” Washington said.
State officials say the differences in the data could be because of the initial, limited supply of the bivalent boosters.
Washington said supply is no longer an issue and the shots will help reduce the impacts from another possible winter surge, especially as new variants spread.
The latest data in Mecklenburg County mimics national trends. BA.5 is still making up 70% of tests sequenced and BE or BF-like variants account for 13% of positive tests sequenced.
Current coronavirus trends haven’t changed, but the county is prepared for that to change like it has in the last few winters.
“It’s not unrealistic to think that may occur," Washington said. "One of the benefits we have today is we obviously have a lot of immunity built up in the community either from vaccination or natural protection so hopefully that is going to help us protect against any very dramatic surges as we saw with omicron last fall."
The booster shots are available through the health department, hospital systems, StarMed and retail pharmacies.
Contact Chloe Leshner at cleshner@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.