The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated on June 26 that a new COVID-19 variant spreading across the United States shows a higher potential to infect certain individuals, although the agency noted that there’s “no evidence” that it causes more severe symptoms.
The recently discovered variant LB.1 “has the potential to infect some people more easily based on a single deletion in a spike protein,” CDC spokesman David Daigle told The Epoch Times on June 26, in response to a question about the LB.1 variants’ severity.
However, he noted that “there is currently no evidence that LB.1 causes more severe disease” and that “most key COVID-19 indicators are showing low levels of activity nationally, therefore the total number of infections this lineage may be causing is likely low.”
Mr. Daigle said COVID-19-associated hospitalizations and deaths remain low.
“CDC will continue to track SARS-CoV-2 variants and is working to better understand the potential impact on public health,” he said.
“Taken together, these results suggest that the potential for infection with an emerging variant of Omicron is substantial, even for individuals who have received the most recent COVID-19 vaccine updates,” the organization stated. “It appears that LB.1 and KP.2.3 exhibit higher infectivity and greater immune escape than KP.2 and KP.3.”
The organization cautioned that “due to the nature of the rapid emergence of LB.1, these results have not yet been corroborated by real-world epidemiological evidence.”
CDC data show that 39 states are seeing higher levels of COVID-19 activity as of this week. However, the CDC’s historical trends show that hospitalizations and deaths from the virus are at or near all-time lows since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Last month, the CDC announced that hospitals are no longer mandated to report COVID-19 hospital admissions, capacity, or related information, while certain graphs and trackers for the virus have disappeared from the health agency’s website.
“Most key COVID-19 indicators are showing low levels of activity nationally, therefore, the total number of infections this lineage may be causing is likely low,” a CDC spokesperson said in a statement earlier in June.
The KP.3 variant is likely to become the “most common lineage” in the United States, the spokesperson said.
As for KP. 3, Andy Pekosz, a molecular microbiology professor at Johns Hopkins University, said the newer variant also doesn’t appear to cause more severe symptoms. Antibodies provided through prior infection or vaccines have led to better outcomes in recent months, he said in an interview posted on the university’s website.
“You are contagious one to two days before you experience symptoms and a few days after symptoms subside. And as with previous variants, some people may have detectable live virus for up to a week after their symptoms begin, and some may experience rebound symptoms,” Mr. Pekosz noted.
An advisory panel for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated in early June that vaccine makers should now target any COVID-19 variants that are derived from JN.1. Those vaccines should be rolled out in the fall of 2024, officials said.
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