WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The most recent data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that the KP.3 variant of COVID-19 is increasingly becoming the predominant strain in the United States, surpassing both the JN.1 and 'FLiRT' variants KP.1.1 and KP.2.
According to the CDC's latest data covering the two-week period from May 26 to June 8, KP.3 now constitutes 25% of COVID cases in the country, emerging as the dominant variant. This has displaced the former leading variant, the JN.1 variant, which had spread globally during the previous winter. Following closely behind KP.3 is the KP.2 variant, now accounting for 22.5% of cases.
Both KP.3 and KP.2 exhibit significant similarities to the JN.1 variant that was prevalent during the previous winter's wave of infections.
Natalie Thornburg, the chief lab official at the CDC's Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division, highlighted a key distinction between the KP.2 and KP.3 variants. Thornburg noted that while KP.2 and KP.3 are almost identical, there is a crucial difference between the two. According to Thornburg, the resemblances between JN.1 and KP.2-like viruses are notable, with KP.3 being very close but not entirely identical. Early data suggests that KP.3's mutations might be more effective at evading immunity.
The CDC's report on June 4 emphasized that COVID-19 infections are either increasing or likely increasing in 30 states. Health experts from vaccine manufacturers Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax have expressed readiness to provide JN.1-targeted vaccines following FDA approval and have plans to release updated vaccines before the projected winter surge in COVID-19 cases.
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