United States: New variants of the Covid-19 virus are circulating around the world and several health organizations are expressing their worries that there may be a new wave of infection occurring in the course of this summer, four years and four months since the outbreak began.
The FLiRT variants is a name given by the combination of the letters of the mutations in the variants’ genetic code, which have been increasing in the case of the US and Europe as the coronavirus continues to evolve from the past strains.
The new grouping follows the tradition of the previously leading JN. The one sub-variant of omicron is one of the most important. Relative to the original virus, there is not much information that suggests that the new strains are more deadly.
However, it is evident that they have independently acquired the set of mutations on their own, writes John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The variant prevalence in the US
KP. 2 became the most prevalent strain in the United States, as revealed by the CDC’s most recent figures. The strain contributed to 28 percent of the total number of cases that occurred in two weeks.
Cases of KP.1.1 and another related FLiRT variant have also emerged, and the cases have grown to 7.1 percent of current infections, according to the health agency, as CNBC reported.
WHO issues updates about the virus
In its latest update, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported this month that cases are reported in limited numbers in various countries.
It said that individual countries are showing “slight increases in detections from very low levels.”
Last week, the UK Health Security Agency stated it is monitoring the data related to the new variants in the United Kingdom and internationally, thereby assessing their severity and the ongoing effectiveness of vaccines.
The update added, “There is no change to the wider public health advice at this time,” as CNBC reported.
Jennifer Horney, professor of epidemiology at the University of Delaware, said, “While our idea of what a wave of COVID-19 infections looks like has changed over the course of the pandemic, it is likely that these new strains will cause increases in the number of cases in the U.S. over the next few months.”
“Many will be mild, based on our existing immunity and not the changes to the circulating strain,” she added.