{"id":154678,"date":"2025-06-25T18:08:54","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T18:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/a-new-covid-variant-is-spreading-in-the-us-what-are-the-symptoms-usa-today\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T18:08:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T18:08:54","slug":"a-new-covid-variant-is-spreading-in-the-us-what-are-the-symptoms-usa-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/a-new-covid-variant-is-spreading-in-the-us-what-are-the-symptoms-usa-today\/","title":{"rendered":"A new COVID variant is spreading in the US: What are the symptoms? – USA Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new COVID-19 variant<\/a> that was unheard of just months ago is now projected to be the second-most common strain in the United States.
Variant NB.1.8.1 was first detected in China in January but accounted for about 0% of cases in the United States until May. By early June, it was estimated to account for up to 37%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The World Health Organization evaluated the additional public health risk posed by the variant as “low at the global level in a May report<\/a>, in which it also advised that currently approved COVID-19 vaccines are “expected to remain effective to this variant against symptomatic and severe disease.”
Here’s what we know about NB.1.8.1:
NB.1.8.1 is one of the latest variants of COVID-19, a “slightly upgraded version” of the LP.8.1 variant that is prominent right now, Subhash Verma, microbiology and immunology professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, previously told\u00a0USA TODAY<\/a>\u00a0in May.
The new variant was first detected in January in China.\u00a0As of mid-May, the variant had reached 10.7% of global reported COVID-19 cases, according to\u00a0the\u00a0WHO<\/a>.
Verma previously stated that NB.1.8.1 may be transferred more easily than LP.8.1. Additionally, he noted that NB.1.8.1 can evade antibodies created by vaccines or past infections more easily than LP.8.1.
“NB.1.8.1 is likely to spread more rapidly and evade our immune defenses more easily than LP.8.1, which is why this variant requires careful monitoring,” Verma said.
For two weeks starting on May 25 and ending on June 7, the\u00a0CDC\u2019s\u00a0Nowcast estimates tracker<\/a>\u00a0shows projections for the different COVID-19 variants. According to the latest CDC data, the NB.1.8.1 strain is projected to be the second highest in the United States, accounting for 37% of the total cases recorded here.
The most common strain is LP.8.1, also known as Omicron, which accounts for 38% of cases, followed by NB.1.8.1 with 37%, XFG with 8%, XFC making up 7%, and LF.7.9 with 4%.
The prominence of NB.1.8.1 in the United States has significantly increased in recent weeks, accounting for 0% of cases through March before reaching 2% in April, 5% in early May and 15% by late May.
The CDC has not outlined symptoms that are specific to the NB.1.8.1. variant. Verma said that NB.1.8.1 symptoms appear similar to those of earlier COVID-19 variants.
However, an extremely sore throat, colloquially called “razor blade throat,” has been associated<\/a> with the new variant.
People with the variant have reported a feeling akin to their throats being covered with razor blades, according to\u00a0the Los Angeles Times<\/a>,\u00a0Fox News<\/a>,\u00a0SF Gate<\/a>, and other news outlets. Many people have also taken to social media to describe the “razor blade throat.”
The\u00a0CDC<\/a>\u00a0outlines the following as common COVID-19 symptoms:
◾Fever or chills
◾Cough
◾Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
◾Sore throat
◾Congestion or a runny nose
◾New loss of taste or smell
◾Fatigue
◾Muscle or body aches
◾Headache
◾Nausea or vomiting
The\u00a0CDC<\/a>\u00a0advises seeking medical care if you experience any of the following symptoms:
◾Trouble breathing
◾Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
◾New confusion
◾Inability to wake or stay awake
◾Depending on skin tone, lips, nail beds and skin may appear pale, gray, or blue
The\u00a0WHO<\/a>\u00a0states that currently approved\u00a0COVID-19 vaccines<\/a>\u00a0are expected to remain effective against the NB.1.8.1 variant.
In a webpage dated Jan. 7, the\u00a0CDC<\/a>\u00a0advises that everyone over the age of six months get the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine, specifically the 2024-2025 Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine.
It also suggests that people who have never received a COVID-19 vaccine, are age 65 and older, are immunocompromised, live at a long-term care facility, are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant, and\/or want to avoid getting long COVID, should get the vaccine, especially.
However, Health and Human Services Secretary\u00a0Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a>\u00a0said on\u00a0May 27 that the COVID-19 vaccine<\/a>\u00a0would no longer be included in the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and pregnant women, a move that\u00a0broke with previous expert guidance<\/a>\u00a0and bypassed the normal scientific review process.
Under the changes, the only people<\/a>\u00a0who will be recommended for COVID-19 vaccines are those over 65 and people with existing health problems. This could make it harder for\u00a0others who want the COVID-19 vaccine<\/a>\u00a0to get it, including health care workers and healthy people under 65 with a vulnerable family member or those who want to reduce their short-term risk of infection.
This could mean that some who still wish to receive the vaccine\u00a0may have to pay out of pocket<\/a>, if they can access it at all. It is not yet known how accessible the COVID-19 vaccine will be moving forward.
Increasing Community Access to Testing, Treatment and Response (ICATT), a federal program, continues to provide free COVID-19 testing to individuals without health insurance.
According to the CDC, as of May 27, more than 19,000 locations across the country offer free testing. To find a location near you that offers free testing, visit\u00a0testinglocator.cdc.gov\/Search<\/a>.<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new COVID-19 variant that was unheard of just months ago is now projected to be the second-most common strain in the United States.Variant NB.1.8.1 was first detected in China in January but accounted for about 0% of cases in the United States until May. By early June, it was estimated to account for up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":154679,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-154678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}