The CDC just dropped some news on Wednesday about a concerning new development: they’ve detected something called the FLiRT variants in wastewater samples. Turns out, from April 14 to April 27, these FLiRT variants made up a whopping 25% of the COVID cases in the US. That means 1 in 4 cases can be traced back to these guys.
These FLiRT variants are spreading fast, like really fast. In just two weeks, they’ve become the top dogs, beating out the JN.1 variant that was causing havoc worldwide over the winter.
But what exactly are these FLiRT variants, and what do they do to you? Well, they’re part of the Omicron family, specifically stemming from the JN.1.11.1 variant. They’ve got some changes, especially in their spike protein, which is how the virus grabs onto your cells and makes you sick.
Since they’re still pretty new, we don’t know everything about them yet. But if you’re wondering what symptoms they bring, we’re still figuring that out. In the meantime, it’s all about staying cautious and doing what we can to protect ourselves from getting infected.
