Experts Wary That KP.2 Coronavirus Variant May Cause Summer Surge In Cases
May 13, 2024
The New York Times (5/10, Blum) reported, “For most of this year, the JN.1 variant of the coronavirus accounted for an overwhelming majority of Covid cases. But now, an offshoot variant called KP.2 is taking off.” Although it “made up just one percent of cases in the United States in mid-March,” now it “makes up over a quarter.” The variant “belongs to a subset of Covid variants that scientists have cheekily nicknamed ‘FLiRT,’ drawn from the letters in the names of their mutations.” And “while cases currently don’t appear to be on the rise, researchers and physicians are closely watching whether the variant will drive a summer surge.” NBC News (5/10, Bendix) reported, “The KP.2 variant represents 28% of Covid infections in the U.S., up from just 6% in mid-April, according to data released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” Research that has yet to be peer-reviewed “suggests that the Covid vaccines currently recommended in the U.S. may be less effective against KP.2 than against JN.1.” The preprint results were published on bioRxiv. The Hill (5/9, Weixel) reported, “So far, the variants haven’t been proven to cause any more serious illness, and vaccines remain effective, but there’s no certainty about how the virus may change and what happens next. According to the most recent data available, weekly hospitalizations were at the lowest level since the start of the pandemic.”