{"id":15295,"date":"2025-05-27T19:50:49","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T19:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=15295"},"modified":"2025-05-27T19:50:49","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T19:50:49","slug":"the-latest-covid-strain-nb-1-8-1-is-an-omicron-variant-heres-all-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=15295","title":{"rendered":"The latest COVID strain, NB 1.8.1, is an Omicron variant. Here\u2019s all you need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Between measles<\/a> and bird flu<\/a>, there is no shortage of outbreaks to monitor. But experts suggest adding another to your radar: the latest strain of COVID, NB 1.8.1, which is surging in China and has been detected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s airport screening program in California, Washington, Virginia, and the New York City area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Its appearance in the U.S. came just before Robert F. Kennedy Jr\u2019s announcement<\/a> on Tuesday that the CDC will no longer recommend COVID vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women.<\/p>\n

The cases of NB 1.8.1 detected in the U.S. are, as of now, few and far between, a CDC spokesperson tells Fortune<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cCDC is aware of reported cases of COVID-19 NB.1.8.1 in China and is in regular contact with international partners. There have been fewer than 20 sequences of NB.1.8.1 in the U.S. baseline surveillance data to date, so it has not met the threshold for inclusion in the COVID Data Tracker dashboard,\u201d the spokesperson notes. \u201cWe monitor all SARS-CoV-2 sequences, and if it increases in proportion, it will appear on the Data Tracker dashboard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. William Schaffner, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine professor of medicine and preventive medicine, says the new variant is \u201ckind of scattered about the U.S. at the moment, in small numbers.\u201d It appears to be another variant of the Omicron<\/a> family, he tells Fortune,<\/em> \u201cSo it’s not a dangerous new mutant, but the latest cousin.\u201d<\/p>\n

So how worrisome is the new strain, and what should you watch out for? Below, all you need to know about the detection of NB 1.8.1.<\/p>\n

Symptoms of the latest COVID strain<\/h2>\n

The new variant has no unique characteristics, says Schaffner, and causes mild symptoms\u2014typically congestion or a runny nose, cough, fatigue, headache, body aches, and fever or chills. <\/p>\n

It is highly contagious and will likely continue to spread, he adds, pointing out that there is typically a winter surge as well as a mid- to late-summer surge. <\/p>\n

But, as over 95% of the U.S. population has either had COVID or the vaccine or both, we now have \u201cextraordinary population immunity,\u201d he points out.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, this is not to say that Omicron is trivial, because there are on the order of 200 to 300 deaths that are occurring weekly, still due to COVID infection,\u201d Shaffner says. \u201cOf course, those are in highly vulnerable populations\u2014older persons and people with chronic underlying medical conditions\u2014by and large.\u201d <\/p>\n

Another lingering concern always the possibility of winding up with long COVID. \u201cThat hasn’t gone away, and that can actually follow milder infections as well as more severe infections,\u201d he says, stressing that the data \u201care really quite reassuring\u201d regarding vaccination, meaning that it not only helps prevent severe acute disease, but also reduces the risk of getting long COVID.<\/p>\n

How to stay safe\u2014and what vaccine protocol to follow<\/h2>\n

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration announced<\/a> it was likely to limit access to immunizations among healthy children and adults under 65 this fall.<\/p>\n

Schaffner, for one, wishes the latest recommendations had waited until the CDC\u2019s next Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), set for June. \u201cThe current mechanism seems to have turned the recommendations process upside down\u2014namely, it’s coming from the top down, rather than from the bottom up,” he says.<\/p>\n

He points to and endorses the recommendations that, as of just before the CDC announcement, called for pregnant women to receive COVID shots. \u201cAnd not just I, but the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians were recommending universal vaccination pending the meeting of the ACIP in June,\u201d he says. \u201cSo I will make the observation that we could have waited just a month and have the normal process address this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

People who are at higher risk\u2014older people, those with chronic underlying medication conditions, and those who are immune compromised\u2014should certainly consider vaccination. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then dust off your masks,\u201d Shaffner says. \u201cUse them when you\u2019re indoors in large gatherings.\u201d <\/p>\n

Why tracking COVID strains is important<\/h2>\n

It’s important to track the strains, explains Schaffner, \u201cbecause we want to be sure that the vaccines we offer are going to provide reasonable protection against severe disease caused by these various strains.\u201d The current belief is that the vaccines on offer will protect against the new strain. <\/p>\n

Monitoring globally, he adds, helps public health officials from being caught unprepared by a new, aggressive strain. \u201cBecause these viruses don’t need passports. They can move rapidly around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

More on illness:<\/p>\n