Highly Contagious New COVID Variant Spreading In New York

Another contagious COVID variant has health officials in New York State worried.

A new COVID variant HV.1 emerged and spreading rapidly.

New COVID Variant Is Most Dominates Strain

The HV.1 COVID variant is now the leading cause of COVID in the United States.

The latest data from the CDC says the new variant accounts for over 25 percent of all new COVID cases, more than any other variant currently circulating.

For all the news that the Hudson Valley is sharing make sure to follow Hudson Valley Post on Facebook, download the Hudson Valley Post Mobile

The new variant is considered the grandchild or “great-grandchild” of Omicron.

More Contagious Variant of Covid

According to the CDC, mutations often allow a new variant to spread more easily.

“The COVID family of viruses likes to mutate. We’ve all learned that by now," Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center told TODAY. "One of the characteristics of this entire omicron family is that they are highly transmissible."

Read More: New York Wants All To Be Aware About Upcoming Winter Weather

Most Common Symptoms for New Covid Variant

Congestion, sore throat and dry cough are currently the most common symptoms of HV.1. Below are the most common symptoms:

Is It Your Hometown? Beautiful, Picturesque Upstate New York Hometown Worst To Live

• Sore throat
• Fatigue
• Muscle aches
• Headache
• Cough
• Runny nose
• Congestion or stuffiness

A doctor told NBC symptoms typically start with a sore throat which is typically followed by congestion or a runny nose.

These Omicron COVID Symptoms May Lead to Hospitalizations in New York

These are symptoms you should pay attention to.

Vaccine Still Effective

Doctors urge all to continue to update themselves with the latest COVID vaccine.

“There have been laboratory studies that have shown that the immune response generated by the updated vaccines are able to neutralize some of the more recent COVID variants,” Matthew Binnicker, the Director of Clinical Virology at Mayo Clinic, told AARP.