“With the patience of the virus, we will see how it continues to evolve with mutations that make it more adept at evading immunity and circulating among the human population,” says David Montefiori, MD, director of the HIV and HIV Laboratory. -19 and progression at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.
Currently, the KP. 3. 1. 1 variant is the leading cause of coronavirus infections in the United States, accounting for more than a quarter of new cases. KP. 3. 1. 1 and the very similar KP. 3 strain account for almost a portion of all infections.
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KP. 3. 1. 1 and KP. 3 are components of a circle of variant relatives called FliRT, short for the technical names of their similar mutations.
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Dr. Montefiore explains that the virus is evolving this way to survive.
“COVID will continue to acquire mutations that will allow it to evade, at least partially, the immunity induced by vaccination or past infections,” he says. “It will stay with us forever, like the flu. “
In the second part of May, the rate of COVID-19 infection in the United States is just beginning to accelerate, indicating that an expected seasonal surge of the virus is coming.
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As the wave enters its third month, some public fitness experts are becoming concerned about the strength and endurance of the existing wave.
“I wonder how long the summer surge lasts, because it happened a month earlier in California than last year,” says Peter Chin-Hong, MD, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, who specializes in diseases infectious.
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Although the positivity rate of the controls reached 16. 3% nationally, the titrates were in Texas and surrounding areas (25. 7%), followed by Florida and the southeastern states (17. 5%).
“These are usually states with humidity that forces other people to flee from the outside and collect indoors, leading to increased transmission,” says Dr. Chin-Hong. “Extreme weather situations in many of those states would have possibly turbocharged the transmission as well. “
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“All the dominant strains are omicron variants [which have generated subvariants since their appearance in 2021], so the vaccines are maintained very well and are updated every year to adapt to what is circulating around the world. ‘was,’ explains Montefiore.
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The lasting summer surge may simply be related to the existing vaccine’s declining potency, according to James Mansi, PhD, vice president of North American medical affairs at vaccine maker Moderna.
“We know that vaccination is obviously effective in reducing the threat of hospitalization, but it is critical to track COVID vaccination status,” says Dr. Mansi.
He notes that Americans are currently dying from the virus at a rate of 300 to 400 a week, and that many of the rest are probably unvaccinated or not up to date on their vaccines.
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“This is a worrying trend in COVID deaths and we should not normalize it,” Mansi says. “We have very effective vaccines and we will have to maintain higher vaccination rates across the country. “
Since COVID is still around this summer, others may be wondering if they’ll get an extra vaccine now or wait to get the new ones, which are expected to arrive in a few weeks.
“If you’re at higher risk or you’re traveling or you’re going to be in a large crowd of people, you may get the vaccine [the existing formula] now,” Montefiori says, adding that other people deserve to consult their doctors before making the decision.
Even those who get vaccinated now will be able to get the updated vaccine a few months before the next COVID season gets underway.
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Chin-Hong says she’s seeing fewer symptoms that weren’t unusual in 2020, such as shortness of breath and loss of taste and smell, though other people experience nausea and diarrhea, which they wouldn’t possibly recognize. not as COVID-19-like symptoms.
Other common symptoms of COVID-19 include:
Montefiore emphasizes that knowing whether or not you’re inflamed is not only vital to maintaining your own health, but it can also help you take steps to “reduce overall transmission and also that of others. “
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing rules to ensure the accuracy of our content, as defined in our editorial policy. We use only trusted sources, aggregating peer-reviewed studies, qualified medical experts, patients with lived experiences, and data from leading institutions.
Don Rauf has worked as a freelancer for over 12 years and his writing has appeared in HealthDay, CBS News, WebMD, and U. S. News.
He is prolific and has written more than 50 books, including Lost America: Vanished Civilisations, Abandoned Towns, and Roadside Attractions. Rauf lives in Seattle, Washington.