The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States has surged over the summer, along with an increase in emergency room visits and deaths from the virus.
l isLatest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Emergency room visits increased by more than 23% between June 16 and June 22, and COVID deaths have increased by 14.3% in recent weeks. But COVID’s share of total U.S. deaths remains low at 0.8%, and all metrics remain well below past spikes.
Experts attribute this increase to a rise in FLiRT variants, which include KP.3, KP.2, KP.1.1, or other variants beginning with KP or JN. FLiRT variants that belong to the Omicron lineage are the dominant variants across the United States, with two, KP.3 and KP.2, accounting for more than 50% of current cases.
The CDC noted that such mutations are expected.
“Viruses are constantly changing through mutations, and sometimes these mutations create new variants of the virus. Some changes and mutations can allow the virus to spread more easily or become resistant to treatments and vaccines. As the virus spreads, it may change and become harder to stop,” the agency said on its website.
What is the main symptom?
The FLiRT variant does not appear to cause more severe illness, but it does seem to have one most common symptom: Many people who test positive for the FLiRT variant complain of a sore throat.
“Unfortunately, one of the most common COVID symptoms right now appears to be a sore throat with or without a slight fever,” said infectious disease specialist Andreas M. Kogelnik, MD. Parade said. “Unfortunately, a sore throat can have a variety of causes.”
Other COVID symptoms are similar to those reported with previous variants.
- Body pain
- cold
- congestion
- cough
- Malaise
- heat
- headache
- Stuffy or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- diarrhea
- New loss of taste or smell
Current CDC guidelines recommend isolating people until their symptoms improve and their fever subsides without medication for at least 24 hours, after which extra precautions are recommended for the next five days.