New COVID variant sweeping U.S. of "major concern" but Europe well-placed to resist: Spanish expert

STORY: New COVID variant sweeping U.S. of "major concern" but Europe well-placed to resist: Spanish expert DATELINE: Jan. 6, 2023 LENGTH: 00:01:30 LOCATION: BARCELONA, Spain CATEGORY: HEALTH SHOTLIST: 1. SOUNDBITE 1 (Spanish): JULIA BLANCO, Head of the Cell Virology and Immunology (VIC) group at IrsiCaixa Institute 2. SOUNDBITE 2 (Spanish): JULIA BLANCO, Head of the Cell Virology and Immunology (VIC) group at IrsiCaixa Institute STORYLINE: A new COVID variant sweeping the United States is the "major cause of concern" in the evolution of the pandemic, but Europe's high vaccination level means it is well-placed to resist the new strain, a leading Spanish virologist has told Xinhua. SOUNDBITE 1 (Spanish): JULIA BLANCO, Head of the Cell Virology and Immunology (VIC) group at IrsiCaixa Institute "What's happening in the United States is that this new variant has appeared, XBB.1.5, which seems to be more transmissible, with a few different mutations, and which is causing a surge in infections in the U.S. and wh