A newly identified COVID strain will likely spread to Israel, a senior Israeli health official said Monday. Dr. Nadav Sorek, manager of the microbiology laboratory at Assuta Medical Center in Ashdod, said Monday morning that it is only a matter of time before the XBB.1.5 variant of COVID, dubbed the “Kraken,” spreads to Israel. “The question is not if, but when. This new variant which is in the US – the XBB – will come to Israel,” said Sorek. “What is happening in China and is starting to happen now in the US is basically a new sub-variant of the Omicron. It is a variant that on the one hand spreads very quickly, but on the other hand causes less serious illness than the Alpha and Delta strains.” “So we have a variant that is less dangerous on the one hand, but is more infectious. And it also is constantly creating new variants – one after the other.” “Just because you got sick a few months ago, that doesn’t mean you are protected from the new variant. That’s why we’re seeing very intense waves of infection every few months.” Israel will experience a new wave of infections, Sorek predicted yet another wave of infections would follow within a matter of months or even weeks. The XBB.1.5 sub-variant now appears to be the dominant strain the US, making up 40.5% of confirmed cases in the US for the week ending on December 31st, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In the Northeast, XBB.1.5 accounted for some 75% of all confirmed cases. The XBB.1.5 was first reported in Asia, and has resulted in a spike in cases in China. While the so-called “Kraken” sub-variant appears to be more infectious than previous strains – including the previous Omicron sub-variant – it is not believed to cause more serious illness. “There’s no suggestion at this point that XBB.1.5 is more severe, director of the CDC's Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division Dr. Barbara Mahon told CBS News .
