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New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that a new strain of the Omicron variant is now the leading cause of new COVID-19 cases in the country.
The data shows that the XBB.1.5 strain now accounts for 40% of all cases in the United States, up from 20% last week. In the Northeast, the strain makes up 75% of all cases.
Dr. Barbara Mahon, director of CDC's Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division, told NBC News that the new strain does not appear to cause more severe illness but is more contagious than previous Omicron variants.
"We're seeing hospitalizations have been notching up overall across the country," she said. "They don't appear to be notching up more in the areas that have more XBB.1.5."
Health experts are urging caution heading into the winter months.
"Every previous two winters, we have seen a surge of infections that peaked in mid-January," John Moore, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, told Reuters. "I expect the same to happen this year.