Two new COVID-19 subvariants, collectively referred to as FLiRT, are increasingly outpacing the dominant winter strain, in anticipation of an imaginable surge in coronavirus infections in the summer.
The new FLiRT subvariants, officially as KP. 2 and KP. 1. 1, are thought to be about 20% more transmissible than their parent, JN. 1, the dominant winter subvariant, said infectious disease specialist Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an expert at the University of California, San Francisco.
The two FLiRT subvariants combined accounted for about 35% of coronavirus infections nationally during the two weeks beginning April 28, according to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U. S. On the other hand, it is now estimated that JN. 1 accounts for 16% of infections; By mid-winter, it accounted for more than 80%.
“It’s been quite a while since we’ve had a new dominant variant in the United States,” said Dr. David Bronstein, an infectious disease specialist at Kaiser Permanente Southern California. “With each of those variants following the previous one, we see increased transmissibility — it’s less difficult to transmit from one user to another. That’s the challenge with FLiRT.
FLiRT’s largest subvariant, KP. 2, is developing as a proportion of coronavirus infections. At the end of March, this accounted for only 4% of estimated infections nationally; More recently, it is estimated to be 28. 2%.
The new subvariants have been dubbed FLiRT because of mutations in the evolved COVID-19 virus. “So, from an ‘L’, there’s an ‘F’. And from a “T,” there’s an “R. “And then they put an ‘i’ on it to make it cute,” Chin-Hong said.
Despite their increased transmissibility, the new mutations do not appear to lead to more severe disease. And the vaccine is expected to continue to work well, given that the new subvariants differ only from the winter version.
Subvariant access also comes as COVID-19 hospitalizations reach record levels. During the week ending April 27, there were 5,098 admissions, one-seventh of this winter’s peak, when 35,137 admissions were reported during the week ending Jan. 6.
However, as of May 1, national hospitals are no longer required to report COVID-19-related admissions to the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. U. S. Citizenship and Drug Now only the knowledge submitted voluntarily will be at the national level.
In Los Angeles County, COVID-19 ratings appear to be on a lull. During the week ending April 27, coronavirus degrees in Los Angeles County’s wastewater were at 8% of the winter peak.
Still, some doctors say they wouldn’t be surprised if there was a spike in COVID cases in the summer, as has happened in past seasons.
“By the summer, we can expect people’s immunity to be a little bit lower,” Chin-Hong said. Older or immunocompromised people “are potentially at risk for more severe disease. “
In addition, other people gather indoors during the summer to avoid the heat, which can increase the threat of transmission in crowded public places.
Chin-Hong said he cares for COVID-19 patients at UC San Francisco who are severely ill and “were very old or very immunocompromised and did not receive the maximum of recent vaccines. “
According to doctors, the fact that FLiRT subvariants spread more easily underscores how vital it is for those most at risk to stay up to date on their vaccinations and stay away from people with health problems.
And while the threat of long COVID is likely less than it was at the start of the pandemic, it still exists.
According to the data, many other people have not received a recent COVID-19 vaccine. During the week ending Feb. 24, 29% of the nation’s seniors won one dose of the updated vaccine, which will be received in September. In California, as of April 30, about 36% of seniors had received an updated dose.
“We continue to see those hospitalizations and those poor outcomes, and even other people dying from COVID. It hasn’t gone away,” he said, Bronstein. La good news is that the vaccine . . . is still very effective at protecting you from hospitalization, severe outcomes and death. “
According to the CDC, more than 42,000 COVID-19 deaths were recorded nationwide between October and April. This figure is particularly higher than the estimated number of flu deaths over the same period: 24,000.
However, this figure is lower than the comparable time last season, when more than 70,000 deaths due to COVID were reported. And this figure is much lower than that of the first two devastating pandemic winters: between October 2021 and April 2022, more than 272,000 deaths were recorded; And between October 2020 and April 2021, this figure exceeds 370,000.
In February, the CDC recommended that people 65 and older get a second dose of the updated vaccine as long as it’s been at least four months since the last shot. The CDC also says anyone 6 months and older should get an updated dose of the vaccine.
“Right now, the most other people can do is get vaccinated,” Bronstein said. He advised that those who are vulnerable continue to wear a mask as much as possible, especially in places like crowded airports and planes.
In addition, she added, it’s important for people with health problems to stay home to avoid spreading germs to others, especially older people. And if other people with health problems have to leave their homes, they will have to wear masks. in the presence of others.
“Even in the summer, what might look like a hemorrhage may actually be a COVID infection,” Bronstein said. “We want to make sure that if you’re sick, you get tested as much as possible, stay home . . . and Make sure your symptoms are milder before returning to your previous activities. “
California recommends that others with COVID-19 symptoms stay home until symptoms are mild and they have not had a fever for 24 hours without medication.
They will also have to wear a mask when they are indoors for 10 days after having health problems or, if they don’t have symptoms, after testing positive. They may avoid wearing a mask earlier if they get two consecutive negative effects on immediate testing. at least one day apart. But they avoid contact with other high-risk people for 10 days, according to the state Department of Public Health.
And ahead of plans for this summer, Chin-Hong recommended that older adults contact their health care provider to make sure that if they do contract COVID-19, Paxlovid can be prescribed without interfering with other medications. Paxlovid is an antiviral medication that, when taken through others at risk for severe COVID-19 and mild to moderate illness, reduces the risk of hospitalization and death.
Chin-Hong also suggests that it makes sense for health care providers to prescribe Paxlovid to other higher-risk people who plan to go to places where the drug may not be available, as a prescription “just in case. “Doctors have this discretion because Paxlovid has been fully approved by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration. This is a U. S. health care provider, giving physical care providers greater freedom to decide when to prescribe the drug.
Earlier this year, another drug was also created to help protect the most vulnerable, such as cancer patients and those who have received organ transplants. This is a monoclonal antibody called Pemgarda, which is given intravenously and can be given once. every three months. Authorized by the FDA for emergency use, it is administered prophylactically and can help recipients save themselves from COVID-19 if they are exposed to an inflamed person.
A new edition of the COVID-19 vaccine is also expected to be available until September. It may simply be designed to oppose last winter’s JN. 1 strain, but it’s also conceivable that officials would make a decision that deserves to be engineered in opposition to the developing FLiRT subvariants, Chin-Hong said.
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