Uh Oh. Another Covid variant is back!
The latest report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that the virus responsible for COVID-19 has undergone further mutations, nicknamed FLiRT.
These variants have been detected through wastewater sampling, indicating their presence in the population.
According to the CDC, data from April 14 to April 27 suggests that one FLiRT variant, known as KP.2, accounted for approximately a quarter of new COVID-19 cases during that period. Another FLiRT variant, KP.1.1, accounts for about 7.5% of cases, placing it behind only three JN strains.
This means that KP.2 is now more common than the previously dominant JN.1 variant, which, according to the CDC, accounts for around 22% of cases.
Experts are alarmed by these changes, especially considering the declining vaccination rates among Americans. The CDC indicates that since September 2023, only 22.6% of Americans have received an updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine.
There’s also concern about the effectiveness of the latest COVID-19 vaccine against the JN.1 and FLiRT variants. A recent preprint study from Harvard University suggests a decrease in effectiveness against these strains, although the study has not undergone peer review.
Dr. Thomas Russo, a top expert in infectious diseases from the University of Buffalo, stressed the danger of decreasing immunity, saying, “We’ve got a lot of people whose immunity is fading, which makes us more vulnerable to another wave.”
Symptoms of the FLiRT variants are said to be similar to those of the JN.1 variant, including fever, cough, sore throat, congestion, headache, muscle aches, difficulty breathing, fatigue, loss of taste or smell, “brain fog,” and gastrointestinal issues like upset stomach, mild diarrhea, and vomiting.
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