CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — According to medical health experts, another surge of COVID-19 variants is on the rise.
COVID FLiRT also known as KP.2 is the newest mutation after JN.1. According to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the variant is an evolution to the JN.1 variant which has been dominant for the past several months in the U.S.
“FLiRT is a cousin of the JN variant, it started as an offshoot of the JN variant but the most important thing about these variants lately has been immune invasion. They’re able to escape the antibodies and the immunity that the body can mount,” said Dr. Raghav.
Dr. Raghav Tirupathi, the medical director of Infection Prevention for WellSpan Chambersburg and WellSpan Waynesboro hospitals, said that health officials are expecting to see a rise in the FLiRT variant this summer.
“COVID is highly infectious and quickly spreads from one person to another mostly in congregated settings,” said Dr. Raghav. “As people get out and mingle more this summer…the immunity starts waning down and that’s how you become more vulnerable to get an infection or reinfection with COVID.”
Dr. Raghav said that it is important for people to stay up to date on their vaccines because they are still effective for all COVID variants. He also encouraged people who may be immunocompromised or those who are infected to see their primary care specialist.
“These are the patients we need to be very watchful of COVID-19 infection risks-- especially if they’re traveling to an area where the rates are high,” said Dr. Raghav.
According to the Centers for Disease Control COVID Data Tracker, KP.2, was responsible for more than 20% of new infections in the last two weeks. While there are dozens of variants before FLiRT, the CDC projects that there are more new variants of SARS-CoV-2 expected to continue to emerge.
Health experts believe that some variants will emerge and disappear, while others will emerge and continue to spread and may replace previous variants.
“I know after four years of COVID and numerous variants, COVID fatigue has set in big time and people don’t want to hear about COVID but that’s the sad reality,” said Dr. Raghav. “It’s always going to be there so being aware of what are the new variants that are emerging is important.”
Download the FOX43 app here.