COVID-19 cases are continuing to climb in Los Angeles County, as are the number of people hospitalized with infections, as the typical summer surge in the illness creeps up. Among those recently testing positive for the coronavirus was Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, whose office disclosed the result Friday morning, shortly before she spoke at […]
It’s summer 2024, but the COVID-19 pandemic is still hanging around. And while the virus continues to evolve, it’s doing so in more predictable ways. Specifically, the expected summer uptick in infections has arrived: The number of COVID cases is “likely” on the rise in at least 39 states and isn’t dropping anywhere in the […]
The new COVID-19 subvariants collectively nicknamed FLiRT are continuing to increase their dominance nationwide, fueling a rise in cases in Los Angeles County and growth in the coronavirus levels seen in California wastewater. Taken together, the data point to a coronavirus resurgence in the Golden State — one that, while not wholly unexpected given the […]
It’s summer 2024, but the COVID-19 pandemic is still hanging around. And while the virus continues to evolve, it’s doing so in more predictable ways. There are new variants in town, a reformulated vaccine on the horizon and fresh preventive treatments to help protect the most vulnerable people from getting severely ill from COVID. At-risk […]
As the nation begins its second summer following the end of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency, a new family of viral subvariants that virologists are calling FLiRT is on the rise. “This is not a surprise; this is always in the cards,” Edwin Michael, PhD, an epidemiologist at the University of South Florida College […]
By Michael Erman NEW YORK (Reuters) – The so-called FLiRT variants of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that cause COVID-19 have been the dominant forms of the virus circulating this year globally, according to the World Health Organization The moniker FLiRT is an acronym for the locations of the mutations the variants share on the virus’ spike protein. […]
Covid-19 levels are about the lowest they’ve ever been in the United States, but another new crop of virus variants once again threatens to disrupt the downward trend as the country heads into summer. KP.2 — one of the so-called FLiRT variants — has overtaken JN.1 to become the dominant coronavirus variant in the United […]
The most recently dominant variants of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, are part of a group sometimes called “FLiRT” variants and serve as a reminder that the virus isn’t going away and some people continue to suffer. While most of the country and the federal government has put the pandemic in the rearview mirror, […]
Respiratory virus season may be ending in the United States, but a new group of COVID-19 variants are circulating, sparking concerns about a potential summer wave. The family of variants, nicknamed “FLiRT,” after their mutations, include KP.2, which is now the dominant variant in the United States. In recent weeks, KP.2 quickly overtook JN.1, the […]
A COVID-19 test and a mask are displayed at a home in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2024. Credit – Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post—Getty Images The COVID-19 lull in the U.S. may soon come to an end, as a new family of SARS-CoV-2 variants—nicknamed “FLiRT” variants—begins to spread nationwide. These variants are distant Omicron […]
Medically reviewed by Kate Colby, MPH The coronavirus pandemic started due to the spread of the Sars CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus. Like all viruses, since the first outbreak in 2019, COVID-19 has evolved. New, mutated versions—known as variants—have developed and become predominant, and older ones have faded away. If you contract the virus, your symptoms will […]
By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) – A study that analyzed the genetic code of a quarter of a million U.S. volunteers found more than 275 million entirely new variants that may help explain why some groups are more prone to disease than others, researchers reported on Monday. The whole genome sequencing data from a wide […]