The COVID-19 Omicron XBB sub-variant will not cause large-scale infection in China right now, said Chen Cao, a research fellow with the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention under the China CDC on Sunday.

From Aug. 1 to Dec. 31, 2022, China monitored some imported cases of Omicron sub-variant XBB. At the same time, 16 domestically transported cases infected with XBB were found. The cases emerged mainly in October 2022.

But from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31, XBB did not outperform other variants to spread across China while most of domestic cases have been infected with sub-variant BA.5.2 and BF.7

The two strains can produce cross-protective antibodies for the XBB strains in the short term, and some people may be protected for about 6 months, so XBB will not develop into dominant sub-variants in China right now.