USA Today A new COVID-19 variant that was unheard of just months ago is now projected to be the second-most common strain in the United States.
Variant NB.1.8.1 was first detected in China in January but accounted for about 0% of cases in the United States until May. By early June, it was estimated to account for up to 37%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The World Health Organization evaluated the additional public health risk posed by the variant as “low at the global level in a May report, in which it also advised that currently approved COVID-19 vaccines are “expected to remain effective to this variant against symptomatic and severe disease.”