There is no indication that the coronavirus mandate is coming to an end.
FLiRT is the latest variant that now accounts for the vast majority of COVID-19 cases, according to Yale Medicine. Its varieties come with KP. 1. 1, KP. 2 and KP. 3.
The total number of reported cases is also rising, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus has been detected more in emergency departments and in wastewater.
Dr. Seth Cohen, medical director of infection prevention at the University of Washington Medical Center and an associate professor at the University of Washington, said one variant is the result of herbal evolution of the virus.
He said the coronavirus is “circulating and infecting millions and millions of people around the world, and it’s causing genetic changes. “
If those adjustments “become clinically significant, i. e. , capable of causing severe infection or evading immunity,” they become a “variant of concern. “
The previously worrying variants, including alpha, beta, delta and omicron, have dissipated, not completely disappeared.
While Cohen said the related symptoms are those of variants of the same “micron lineage,” there are “specific mutations in the spike protein, the component that binds the virus to humans and is to blame for the infection. “
In Washington state, Oregon and Idaho combined, 11,751 COVID tests have been administered in the past two weeks. About 11. 6% were positive, a 1. 7% increase from the previous week, the CDC reported.
The causes of the increase in infections are due to “social and biological factors,” said the infectious disease specialist.
Lack of immunity to FLiRT is one reason, and social occasions in the summer offer a direction of transmission.
The antidote against this virus remains the same: vaccination.
Doubts are circulating about whether the available vaccines would be effective against this new variant.
To address this issue, the CDC issued a statement in late June recommending updated vaccination to protect anyone 6 months of age and older during the fall and winter of 2024-25.
Meanwhile, the effectiveness of the existing vaccine is lost. It remains “highly protective against hospitalization and death,” Cohen said.
USA Facts reports that 74. 8% of Washingtonians are fully vaccinated, while 42. 1% opted to load up on a booster dose. In Idaho, 55. 7% of citizens are fully vaccinated and 26% have gotten a booster dose.
Vaccines are incredibly important for people over the age of 65 or for those with compromised immune systems; People – if they are not vaccinated – with those points do not wait for the new vaccine to be launched.
If you do get infected, informing others and staying home is still crucial, especially for some people. This includes the elderly and the immunocompromised, who, according to Cohen, “need to be more vigilant” as they face more serious complications.
In the end, while it turns out that studies and medicine have solved many of the problems related to this explosive virus, Cohen believes that in vaccination we will see “new formulas at least every year. “
“We’ve noticed a summer wave,” he said. “I think we’ll continue to expect that in the coming years, unless something dramatic happens. “
Caroline Saint James’ reporting is part of the Teen Journalism Institute, funded through Bank of America and the Innovia Foundation.