Gavi The NB.1.8.1 and XFG sub-variants are rapidly spreading and competing for global dominance. COVID-19 may have faded from news headlines, but it hasn’t gone away – or stopped evolving. The World Health Organization (WHO) currently lists six ‘variants under monitoring’ — meaning they may require prioritised attention and tracking by health authorities due to their increased prevalence and potential public health implications.
One of them is NB.1.8.1, unofficially nicknamed “Nimbus” by the group of researchers and citizen scientists who’ve proposed previous monikers like Kraken, Centaurus and Eris for variants they thought people would be talking about.
Another variant raising concern among virus spotters – though not currently designated for monitoring by the WHO — is XFG, informally nicknamed “Stratus”.