2 New COVID Variants Spreading In New York, Symptoms To Watch For

Many are probably tired of hearing about COVID, but health officials are warning about new COVID variants that are now spreading. Watch out for these symptoms.

COVID fatigue is real. I'm tired of reporting on the virus, as I'm sure most are tired of reading or hearing about it.

Sadly, the CDC is warning about two new COVID variants

2 New COVID Variants Spreading In New York

The new variants are KP.2 and KP.1.1. They are nicknamed "FLiRT."

"The virus that causes COVID-19, is constantly changing and accumulating mutations in its genetic code over time. New variants are expected to continue to emerge. Some variants will emerge and disappear, while others will emerge and continue to spread and may replace previous variants," the CDC states.

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According to the CDC, the KP.2 variant is now the dominant COVID strain in the U.S., accounting for 25 percent of all current infections.

The KP.1.1 variant makes up for 7.5 percent of all new COVID infections.

Concerning Features

Megan L. Ranney, MD, the dean of the Yale School of Public Health, reports the new variants have some "concerning features" due to changes in the spike protein which helps the virus "colonize the body" and get people sick.

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New Variants Are Highly Transmissible

Dr. Andrew Pekosz told TODAY the new variants are very contagious.

"I think these two mutations together are making KP.2 a better virus in that it maintains its ability to transmit, but also now evades some of the pre-existing immunity in the population,” he said.

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Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, says current vaccines or previous immunity from recovering from COVID "only provide partial protection."

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FLiRT Variant Symptoms In New York

Symptoms from FLiRT variants are similar to the JN.1 omicron variant. Symptoms include:

• Sore throat
• Cough
• Fatigue
• Congestion
• Runny nose
• Headache
• Muscle aches
• Fever or chills
• New loss of sense of taste or smell
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

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