A new variant of COVID-19, called NB.1.8.1, has been detected in travelers arriving from eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and western Pacific regions in the US. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers the public health risk low with current vaccines expected to remain effective.
As cases rise globally, WHO officials say a new variant is driving up infections. The most recent data shows it has reached 11% of sequenced samples worldwide. However, health experts question the US government’s decision to drop COVID-19 vaccination recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women.
The dominant version in the US is LP.8.1, which is currently spreading rapidly. Despite this, there’s no evidence to suggest the new variant is more severe than others. The WHO has designated it a “variant under monitoring” with low public health risk globally.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/covid-variant-who-285a4e5146aa4a7ccb252e38accd5959