HARRISBURG (TNS) — If you’ve noticed that more and more people are coming down with a case of COVID, you’re not wrong.
The bad news is cases are on the rise nationally and the COVID-19 FLiRT variants are taking over.
Per the most recent estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that was released Aug. 3, 27.8% of cases are the KP.3.1.1 strain and 20.1% of current infections are KP.3. These two variants stem from the FLiRT family of the coronavirus.
Another strain on the rise that’s not a descendant of FLiRT is LB.1, which makes up 16% of COVID-19 cases.
“The FLiRT variant appeared in March,” Dr. Tammy Lundstrom, the senior vice president at Trinity Health who led its COVID-19 response, told Good Housekeeping. “Throughout the COVID-19 era, new strains have continued to arise. Like other strains, it appears highly transmissible, but it does not appear more virulent at this point.”
Even though COVID isn’t as dire as it was before, it can still cause unpleasant symptoms, which can be severe to those who have certain risk factors.
One more point: Nationally, the wastewater viral activity level for COVID-19 is currently very high, according to the most recent CDC data.
KP.2, KP.2.3, KP.3 and KP.3.1.1 are the official names of the FLiRT variants that are currently circulating. While FLiRT dethroned JN.1 as the dominant variant, it’s a descendant of JN.1.
Per Lundstrom, the list of symptoms mirror other COVID-19 strains, which includes fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, new loss of taste or smell, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, nausea or vomiting and diarrhea.
How long those symptoms last normally depends on the person. Those with mild cases tend to experience symptoms for 5-10 days but the good news is many will start to feel better sooner than that. Per the CDC, those with long COVID will begin to feel better after three months, even though it can last for years.
As always, to better protect yourself from these new strains, “wash hands frequently, cover your mouth and nose when sneezing/coughing, stay up to date with vaccinations and stay home when ill to prevent spreading infection to others,” Dr. Lundstrom suggested.
The elderly, those with a compromised immune system and children “should take extra precautions, such as avoiding large crowds and wear masks if COVID-19 cases are on the rise locally,” Dr. Nikhil K. Bhayani, an infectious disease specialist and assistant professor at the Burnett School of Medicine at Texas Christian University, also mentioned to Good Housekeeping.
If you do get sick, the CDC still recommends staying home until symptoms have improved overall and there’s no fever.
