- NB.1.8.1, an omicron variant first seen in China, has reached the U.S. with 20 cases so far.
- Confirmed cases are in California, Hawaii, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington.
- The variant appears more transmissible and may dodge vaccine and infection-acquired antibodies.
A new COVID-19 variant has been detected in the U.S.
NB.1.8.1, which is an omicron variant, was first seen in China in January. As of Tuesday, around 20 cases have been seen in the U.S. and the World Health Organization believes that already-approved COVID-19 vaccines will be effective in protecting against it. Globally, by May 18, 518 cases had been reported to the international public health agency.
The count in the U.S. is so low that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not yet added it to its surveillance dashboard, a spokesman told USA Today. But the agency is watching in case it begins to spread as the variant is believed to transmit easily. The WHO has classified it as a variant that “may require prioritized attention and monitoring.”
Cases have been confirmed in California, Hawaii, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington, so far.
Per the San Francisco Chronicle, “Experts said they were closely monitoring the variant, which is spreading rapidly across parts of Asia and Europe. In Hong Kong, health officials recently reported the highest levels of COVID-19 activity in at least a year, citing a ‘significant increase’ in emergency room visits and hospitalizations."
What is NB.1.8.1?
The variant is similar to the LP.8.1 version of COVID-19 that now makes up 70% of U.S. cases. But officials say the new variant seems to be more transmissible and may more easily evade antibodies from vaccines and past infections.
The symptoms don’t appear to be more severe, but are typical of other COVID-19 infections, per the CDC, including fever, cough, having a hard time breathing, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, fatigue, loss of taste or smell, aches and pains including headache and nausea or vomiting.
New vaccine policy in the U.S.
The variant is spreading at a time when U.S. public health has adopted a series of changes to its vaccination recommendations. The Food and Drug Administration announced last week that updated COVID-19 vaccines will remain available to older adults and those who are younger but have certain chronic health conditions or are immune-compromised.
This week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that pregnant women and children who are healthy have been removed from the list of those for whom vaccination is recommended.
In the earlier announcement, the FDA said that vaccine manufacturers will have to do clinical testing annually to prove that there’s a benefit to other groups that are not at high risk of severe symptoms from catching COVID-19.
Reaction to the announcements has been decidedly mixed. Pediatricians and other medical groups are worried that the policy changes could leave both children and adults vulnerable. One worry is the possibility of developing long COVID. There’s also some concern that insurance companies will stop covering the vaccines and that people who want them won’t be able to get them.
A fall updated vaccine rollout
The Chronicle reported that during an FDA advisory panel meeting a week ago, vaccine experts were pondering what the new variant could mean to the upcoming vaccine rollout. While it’s believed that vaccines targeting the dominant LP.8.1 strain will offer some protection against the new variant, it will likely be a few weeks before a decision is made on what to target in the fall version of the vaccine.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, it’s not correct to call it a booster shot, since that’s an additional dose of the same vaccine that helps maintain the effectiveness. Each year, vaccines are instead updated to target what’s most apt to be circulating at the time the shots are released. The same is true annually of the influenza vaccine. The vaccine is updated annually.
Regardless of vaccine policies, public health officials say there are ways to reduce your risk of getting or spreading COVID-19. Good hygiene and etiquette, as well as common sense are very helpful. So people are counseled to wash their hands often with soap, avoid rubbing their eyes, nose and mouth as those are entry portals for viruses of many types, isolate if you’re sick and cover your cough.
Those at greatest risk should consider wearing masks when they’re indoors in large gatherings, Dr. William Schaffner, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine professor of medicine and preventive medicine, told Fortune.