By July, summer traditions are in full swing. Swimming pools have opened. State fairs are serving up corn dogs on a stick. And kids are chasing down the ice-cream truck.
In the past few years, a new, grim summer tradition has emerged — learning about the new COVID variants spreading across the world and wondering what they will mean for the U.S. come autumn and winter.
Once again, a new COVID variant has emerged, and public health experts are analyzing what people can expect after the summer ends.
The New COVID Variant NB.1.8.1
The current COVID variant, LP.8.1, is a subvariant of Omicron, which took over from Delta as the dominant strain. LP.8.1. is beginning to wane, and a new variant is on the rise.
The new variant, NB.1.8.1, is also a subvariant of the Omicron variant. It has spread rapidly, and the earliest sample of this variant was obtained in January. Already, it accounts for 37 percent of COVID cases in the U.S.
Given that both LP.8.1. and NB.1.8.1 are both in the Omicron family, it’s anticipated that prevention and treatment should be similar.
“Vaccines remain effective against this variant, and there is no indication that this variant will be more severe than other circulating variants,” says Lorenzo Subissi, a technical officer for the World Health Organization who studies infectious diseases.
In past years, the changes from one variant to the next were sometimes drastic. Epidemiologists call it an “evolutionary jump” between variants, and Subissi says the jump from Delta to Omicron was considered major.
Although NB.1.81. isn’t a “major evolutionary jump,” how the variant will hit the U.S. isn’t yet clear.
“This will highly depend on the existing immunity and how this has waned in the last months,” Subissi says.
Read More: A Bat Virus Could Someday Spill Over to Humans, Tipping Off a New Pandemic
Razor Blade Throat Symptoms
At this point, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) haven’t updated their list of symptoms to describe NB.1.8.1 symptoms. Past COVID symptoms have consistently included shortness of breath, fatigue, fever, chills, and sore throat. In some instances, people reported temporarily losing their sense of taste or smell.
This means that what is known about NB.1.8.1 symptoms is currently anecdotal and not yet supported by public health organizations. But news outlets and social media users are reporting that NB.1.8.1 causes a painful sore throat. Dubbed “razor blade throat” online, this symptom is thought to be an early indicator of the new variant.
Although the variant does not appear to be more severe than previous ones, experts say there is always a greater risk for vulnerable populations.
“A surge in the number of infections could possibly lead to higher numbers of hospitalizations, especially if high-risk groups are not protected by vaccine-induced immunity,” Subissi says.
When Will the New Variant Hit the U.S.?
People have become accustomed to cold and flu season lining up with certain months of the calendar. But COVID hasn’t been predictable. In some years, the summer months have seen a spike in COVID cases while the winter has been quiet.
“In the summer of 2024, the U.S. has experienced a COVID-19 wave, while the winter 2024-2025 wave was very mild, so it’s possible that this year there will be one as well,” Subissi says.
In the past, summer time has been when people’s immunity from their previous vaccine begins to wane. In some parts of the U.S., scorching temperatures send people indoors to the comfort of air conditioning, which makes the virus easier to spread.
The summer surges are a reflection of how the virus is unique. Whereas the flu and other respiratory diseases tend to spike in the winter, COVID is always lurking.
This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.
Read More: New COVID Variant NB.1.8.1 Spreads in the U.S., Foreshadowing a Likely Summer Surge
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
WHO. WHO TAG-VE Risk Evaluation for SARS-CoV-2 Variant Under Monitoring: NB.1.8.1
CDC. COVID Data Tracker
CDC. Symptoms of COVID-19
Johns Hopkins. Why COVID Surges in the Summer
Emilie Lucchesi has written for some of the country's largest newspapers, including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and an MA from DePaul University. She also holds a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Illinois-Chicago with an emphasis on media framing, message construction and stigma communication. Emilie has authored three nonfiction books. Her third, A Light in the Dark: Surviving More Than Ted Bundy, releases October 3, 2023, from Chicago Review Press and is co-authored with survivor Kathy Kleiner Rubin.
