COVID-19 cases are rising again as a new variant begins to circulate in some parts of the world.
The World Health Organization said Wednesday the rise in cases is primarily in the eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and western Pacific regions.
Airport screening in the United States has detected the new variant in travelers arriving from those regions to destinations in California, Washington state, Virginia and New York.
It arrives as the United States’ official stance on COVID-19 vaccination is changing.
The variant called LP.8.1 is currently the dominant version in the U.S. and globally.
As a new COVID-19 variant starts to spread in some regions of the world, the number of cases is increasing once more. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization stated that the eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and western Pacific regions are the main locations for the increase in cases.
In the United States, airport screening has identified the new variant in passengers traveling from those areas to California, Washington state, Virginia, and New York.
NB is the new variation. 1 point 8. 1. It comes as official U.S. policy regarding COVID-19 vaccination is shifting. This past Tuesday, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. declared the removal of the COVID-19 vaccination recommendation for pregnant women and healthy children, a decision that was immediately questioned by a number of public health experts.
As it spread around the world, the new variant was present in almost 11% of reported sequenced samples by mid-May. With current vaccines predicted to continue to be effective, the WHO has classified it as a “variant under monitoring” and believes the global public health risk is low.
Although there has been a rise in COVID cases and hospitalizations in certain western Pacific countries, according to the WHO, there is currently no evidence that the illness linked to the new variant is more severe than other variants.
The variation known as LP. In the United States, 8.1 is currently the most popular version. A. as well as worldwide.
