To most Americans, COVID-19 now ranks with everyday risks. But the emergence of new variants called FLiRT is a fresh reminder the coronavirus is still evolving, even with hospitalizations at record lows.
State of play: A new variant, KP.2, accounts for a quarter of U.S. cases and just overtook JN.1 as the dominant strain, while a sister variant, KP.1.1, is also rising and represents 7.1% of cases as of last night, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The variants don't appear to cause different or more serious symptoms. They're descended from Omicron and have mutations in the spike protein that make them more easily transmitted.
Threat level: The latest wastewater samples in Portland suggest a sustained increase in the community presence of COVID-19.
