No, the CDC Didn’t Issue a ‘Health Advisory’ for the XBB COVID-19 Subvariant

Several VERIFY readers have raised concerns about Facebook posts asserting that the CDC has issued a health advisory concerning the XBB subvariant of COVID-19. Here’s what we uncovered.

An editor’s note clarifies that posts falsely claiming the CDC’s advisory on the XBB subvariant are recirculating on Facebook as of August 2024. These claims were initially shared as early as fall 2022. The following narrative continues unchanged from the original publication.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there has been a recent rise in positive COVID-19 tests, though this has not translated into major spikes in hospitalizations or deaths.

Recently, a Facebook post alleged that the CDC issued an advisory on the XBB subvariant of COVID-19. “Everyone is advised to wear a mask because the new COVID-Omicron XBB variant of coronavirus is different, deadly, and not easily detected properly,” the post claims. It also suggests that XBB is “5 times more toxic” than the delta variant.

VERIFY readers questioned the legitimacy of these posts.

The Question

Has the CDC issued a health advisory about the XBB COVID-19 subvariant?

The Answer

No, the CDC has not issued any health advisory about the XBB subvariant of COVID-19.

What We Found

Investigative findings reveal no evidence of the CDC issuing an advisory about the XBB subvariant on its official website or social media accounts. No advisory appears on the CDC’s Health Alert Network (HAN) webpage, which disseminates urgent public health information to federal, state, and local authorities.

The latest CDC press release on COVID-19, dated June 27, provides updated vaccine recommendations for 2024-2025. As of early August 2024, the predominant COVID-19 strains in the U.S. are the “FLiRT” and “LB.1” variants of Omicron, not XBB.

Further inquiry into the CDC’s official Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) accounts did not reveal any posts about a health advisory for XBB.

Posts with nearly identical messages about the XBB subvariant also appeared on Facebook and X back in October and November 2022, indicating they are likely copypasta, a term for text blocks repeatedly copied and pasted online.

Similar copypasta instances have led to the dissemination of false or harmful information, such as misleading claims about hurricane cleanup payments.

The claims in many of these posts about the XBB subvariant are either false or lacking proof. Research shows that the Omicron variant and its subvariants, including XBB, typically cause less severe infections compared to earlier strains like the delta variant.

In October 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that data did not indicate significant differences in disease severity for XBB infections. This extends to other strains descended from XBB, including EG.5; the WHO’s initial risk evaluation found “no reported changes in disease severity to date.”

Health experts also did not report significant changes in symptoms for XBB or its subsequent strains. According to the American Medical Association, the XBB.1.5 strain manifests as cold symptoms such as cough and congestion, with possibilities of fever, fatigue, aches, sore throat, nausea, and diarrhea. Yale Medicine notes that EG.5 primarily affects the upper respiratory tract, leading to similar cold-like symptoms.

Though federal mask mandates are no longer in effect, the CDC continues to recommend wearing masks and handwashing as effective methods to prevent COVID-19 spread.