CDC warns of new Covid 'FLiRT' variants becoming dominant across the US - but ... trends now
The latest Covid variants nicknamed 'FLiRT' are sweeping the nation after mutating the virus in a way that it evades the human immune systems.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) detected KP.1.1 and KP.2 variants in wastewater sampling, finding the latter made up about a quarter of new Covid cases last month.
But an infectious disease doctor has now told DailyMail.com that these new mutations, which alter the 'spike proteins' of the coronavirus, also appear to make the pandemic illness less capable of penetrating and infecting human cells.
This mixed blessing has medical professionals warning of an impending Covid wave this summer, which should make these sneakier — but less infectious — strains of the virus more common.
An infectious disease doctor has told DailyMail.com that new mutations to the 'spike proteins' of the coronavirus have made a new variant of the pandemic illness less capable of penetrating and infecting human cells. Above, a 3D model of covid-19 with its infamous spike proteins (red)
That doctor, Tom Russo, said pregnant women and others may want to mask-up in crowded, poorly ventilated indoor settings this summer. Above, a resident of Snellville, Georgia shops at a local supermarket while wearing a protective facemask just last month, April 2024
This seeming contradiction of the FLiRT variants can be likened to a weapon that is less dangerous than a gun, but more capable of dodging a metal detector.
'That's a reasonable analogy,' Dr. Thomas Russo, a professor at the University at Buffalo, told DailyMail.com said.
'Once they evade those defenses their ability, their infectiousness, is not quite as great as some of the earlier variants'
'But the obviously the ability to evade our defenses is been enough where it's increasing in proportion,' he noted.
The CDC's websites shows that as of April 27, infections are likely to increase in two places - Texas and Puerto Rico.
However, a majority of the US showed a decline or are likely to decline status.
The CDC compared March and April, finding there was an -11.1 percent drop in hospital admissions due to Covid.
Only three percent of the US population has tested positive in the last week.
However, the FLiRT variants are still new and the data may change overtime.
Dr. Russo has predicted the the US is going to see some cases, along with a few 'bad outcomes.'
The CDC's websites shows that as of April 27, infections are likely to increase in two places - Texas and Puerto Rico. However, a majority of the US showed a decline or are likely to decline status
'It's mostly going to be in those individuals that are at highest risk, which we have talked about forever,' he explained, 'our seniors, the immunocompromised, and those who had significant underlying comorbidities [i.e. preexisting conditions].'
He noted that pregnant women and those with young children may also want to be on alert and mask-up in crowded and poorly ventilated indoor settings this summer.
'So far Covid has not been a winter seasonal virus,' Dr. Russo emphasized, 'it's occurred year round.'
'We've seen some waves in the summer — particularly in the southern states where it's hot and people are indoors with air conditioning, where the virus spreads well.'
'I suspect we are going to have a bump of ED [Emergency department] visits, hospitalizations and deaths this summer,' he predicted, 'probably driven by KP.2 and KP. 1.1, which is really a sibling. It's very closely related.'
While it is true that new Covid cases and hospitalizations have been trending downward ever since the start of 2024, researchers have also seen bumps in that downslope
