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New so-called "FLiRT" COVID-19 variants have quickly become the most dominant in the United States, and authorities are monitoring their rise as summer approaches. According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of the two members of the “FLiRT” group, KP.2, is now No. 1 among strains nationally, accounting for about 24.9 of all current infections. The JN.1 strain had been dominant in the US before the emergence of KP.2. Both variants are offshoots of the highly contagious Omicron strain. The No. 4 variant in the US, KP.1.1, which makes up 7.5 percent...

JN. 1, a highly contagious off-shoot of the Omicron strain, now makes up around 86 percent of COVID cases in the United States after accounting for less than 5 percent of infections nationally in early November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. It's also the most dominant across the globe. JN.1 cases in the US have doubled over the last month. In late December, it caused 44 percent of cases in the US, after making up around 22 percent of infections in the middle of December. That's around the time the World Health Organization (WHO) declared JN.1...

A new, fast-spreading variant of COVID-19 is sweeping across the nation, making it the most widely circulating iteration of the virus in the U.S. and around the world, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The mutation, called JN.1, is a subvariant of Omicron that was first detected by the World Health Organization in late August. At the time it appeared to be spreading slowly but as temperatures have dipped, JN.1 has spiked. In mid-October, CDC data shows JN.1 made up about 0.1% of all COVID-19 cases around the country. As of Jan. 20, the CDC estimates that's...

The United States is in the throes of another covid-19 uptick, cementing a pattern of the virus surging around the holidays as doctors and public health officials brace for greater transmission after Americans return to school and work this week. Coronavirus samples detected in wastewater, the best metric for estimating community viral activity, suggests infections could be as rampant as they were last winter. A smattering of health facilities around the country, including every one in Los Angeles County, are requiring masks again. JN.1, the new dominant variant, appears to be especially adept at infecting those who have been vaccinated...

As people across the country prepare for holiday celebrations, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging anyone who hasn’t gotten the latest vaccines against respiratory viruses to do so now to avoid getting sick and spreading illness. For the first time, there are vaccines available to protect against Covid-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV. But there is an “urgent need” to boost vaccination coverage amid increasing levels of respiratory disease, the CDC said in an official health advisory last week. Vaccination rates in children and adults remain low as virus activity increases.

A troubling new COVID subvariant is on the rise just in time for the holidays, officials have warned. The JN.1 subvariant – when stems of the omicron variant that surged in early 2022 – is “rapidly increasing globally,” the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Tuesday. JN.1 is now causing about 20 percent of new coronavirus infections in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated. The variant evolved from BA.2.86, a descendent of the omicron variant that made headlines over the summer when scientists worried that it might mutate beyond the capacity of vaccines and antibodies, CNN...

(NEXSTAR) — As millions of Americans are preparing to gather for the holidays, health officials are warning of a new COVID-19 variant sweeping the country. The World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday it was classifying the COVID variant JN.1 as a variant of interest. Here are 5 things you should know about the new variant of interest.

TOPLINE Pirola, or BA.2.86, is the third most prevalent Covid strain in the U.S., and although there may be concerns the new monovalent vaccines—which protect against the XBB lineage that Pirola isn’t a part of—don’t offer protection against Pirola and its subvariants, drugmakers and the CDC are sure the vaccines offer defense. Pirola made up 8.8% of cases as of November 25, almost triple the number of cases the variant made up during the previous two-week period ending on November 11, when Pirola wasn’t even one of the top five most prevalent variants, according to data from the Centers for...

Nearly 1 in 10 new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are from the BA.2.86 variant, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated Monday, nearly triple what the agency estimated the highly mutated variant's prevalence was two weeks ago. Among the handful of regions with enough specimens reported from testing laboratories, BA.2.86's prevalence is largest in the Northeast: 13.1% of cases in the New York and New Jersey region are blamed on the strain. Monday's figures mark the first time BA.2.86's prevalence has surged enough to be listed as a standalone variant on the CDC's estimates. Scientists first warned of...

97 HOUSTON – COVID-19 is continuing to make its presence known across the world as it adapts and evolves into a new strand. American Medical Association Vice President of Science, Medicine and Public Health, Andrea Garcia, JD, MPH, said HV.1 has become the variant responsible for most COVID cases here in the United States in just a few short weeks. According to an article from the TODAY Show, the omicron subvariant accounts for nearly one-third of cases nationwide and is “highly infectious.”

Covid-19 remains a threat as a virus variant has been spreading steadily around the globe, the World Health Organisation said Tuesday. "This virus, SARS-CoV-2, is circulating in every country right now and it still poses a threat," WHO expert Maria Van Kerkhove said. "We have to remain vigilant because the virus is circulating, evolving and changing," she told a discussion on the WHO's social media channels. Van Kerkhove was the WHO's technical lead during the coronavirus pandemic that struck in 2019 and is now the UN health agency's interim director for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention

People across at least 10 states have now been infected by BA.2.86, a highly mutated variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 that authorities have been closely tracking. According to data tallied from the global virus database GISAID, labs have reported finding BA.2.86 in samples from Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Estimates suggest BA.2.86 still remains a small fraction of new COVID-19 cases nationwide. Too few sequences of the virus have been reported to show up on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's biweekly variant estimates, which still show that a long...

(Reuters) - Early research data has shown that antibodies produced by prior infection or existing vaccines against the coronavirus were sufficient to protect against the new BA.2.86 variant, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday. The Food and Drug Administration in the coming days is expected to authorize the updated vaccines that target the XBB.1.5 subvariant of Omicron, and early data provide encouraging signs for the new shots, CDC said.The public health agency added that the new BA.2.86 lineage of coronavirus was not driving the current increases in COVID cases and hospitalizations in the United...

KEY POINTS:* Moderna’s new Covid vaccine generated a strong immune response against BA.2.86, a highly mutated omicron variant that health officials are watching closely, according to clinical trial data the biotech company released Wednesday. *Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax are slated to roll out new vaccines targeting another omicron strain, pending potential approvals from the FDA. * Moderna’s new trial results suggest that the company’s jab will still be effective against newer variants of the virus, even as XBB.1.5 declines nationwide. Moderna’s new Covid vaccine produced a strong immune response against BA.2.86, a highly mutated omicron variant that health officials are...

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise nationwide, a new variant dubbed “Pirola” has experts worried. Also referred to as BA.2.86, Pirola is a highly mutated variant of the Omicron strain of the coronavirus, which emerged in 2021 and led to a frightful spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths. “When Omicron hit in the winter of 2021, there was a huge rise in COVID-19 cases because it was so different from the Delta variant, and it evaded immunity from both natural infection and vaccination,” infectious disease specialist Dr. Scott Roberts said in a Yale Medicine bulletin. The bulletin states that “there...

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused "left-wing lunatics" of fear-mongering about new COVID-19 variants in order to justify the reintroduction of their left-wing lockdown and mandate policies, which included the use of drop boxes and mail-in ballots in 2020, in a bid to rig the 2024 election.President Trump made the remarks in a video posted on Aug. 30 on Truth Social, saying that his message should serve as a warning to every COVID-19 "tyrant" who not only wants to "take away our freedom" but who would be playing into the hands of those wanting to exploit COVID-19 restrictions to...

The headlines have returned: a new COVID variant may lead to the renaissance of enthusiasm for mask mandates. Though some may be thinking, “Not again,” there are many who never stopped living as they did in those two years when fear—symbolized by the face covering worn alone while driving vehicles and even when exercising—became a religion heralded by media and public health officials. However, Priscilla Romans, a former nurse and now a patient advocate, told The Epoch Times that there’s a better way. “People need to be empowered to take their health care back into their own hands so that...

ATLANTA, GA — The Center for Disease Control warned Americans this week to resume all contact precautions due a new and rapidly-spreading "Electionyearicron" Covid variant. CDC director Bob Cohen spoke with reporters Wednesday to announce the new variant. "'Electionyearicron' is thought to be the most disruptive variant yet, and will be here all through 2024 until approximately November sixth," said Mr. Cohen. "So everyone, stay home and get ready to vote by mail!" The White House hosted an immediate press conference to address the dangerous new variant. "We're thrilled - I mean, um, alarmed - to hear of this deadly...

A highly mutated new variant of the virus that causes Covid-19 has countries on alert as scientists scramble to understand how far it has spread and how well our immunity will defend against it. The new variant, called BA.2.86 and nicknamed Pirola by variant hunters on social media, has more than 30 amino acid changes to its spike protein compared with its next closest ancestor, the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron, according to Dr. Jesse Bloom, who studies viral evolution at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. “This makes it an evolutionary jump comparable in size to that which originally...

To mask, or not to mask? That is the question facing many doctors, public health officials and concerned citizens worldwide, as cases of COVID-19 once again tick upward. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Thursday that there’s a new, “highly mutated variant” of the coronavirus named BA.2.86 that’s spreading worldwide. Recent data from the New York state Department of Health, released Aug. 2, showed that COVID cases spiked by 55% over the prior week, with an average of 824 reported cases per day across the state. The rise in COVID-19 cases isn’t limited to New York:...