Newest Covid variant is responsible for 25 per cent of all cases

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released new data showing the latest variant of Covid-19 called KP.3.

The CDC monitored the new variant between May 26 and June 8, which revealed that around 25 per cent of Covid cases in the US were caused by KP.3.

The KP.3 variant has quickly become the leading variant in the US, pushing the JN.1 variant out of the top spot. The JN.1 spread rapidly last winter, and still makes up 22.5 per cent of cases – second only to KP.3.

The emergence of KP.3 comes just after a panel discussion was held by the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, to discuss a new vaccine specially designed to target JN.1. Vaccine manufacturers Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax all announced that they were prepared to make the new, targeted vaccine available as soon as August, pending approval from the FDA.

Novavax assured that the new vaccine has shown “broad cross-neutralizing antibodies for a range of JN1 descendant viruses, including KP2 and KP3.”

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This is likely due to the extreme similarities between the two variants. Natalie Thornburg, the chief lab official at the CDC’s Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division, said the variants are “nearly identical.”

Previous years have shown that the cases of the Covid virus tend to surge around August, which is when the new booster vaccine will likely be available.

Symptoms of this Covid variant include:

• shortness of breath or breathing difficulties.
• loss of appetite.
• confusion.
• pain or pressure in the chest.
• fever (high temperature – 38 degrees Celsius or above)

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