Experts watch new COVID-19 variant

TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) — Experts are watching a new COVID-19 variant that could threaten to drive a summer surge.

KP.2 is now the leading variant in the U.S.

In mid-March, it made up just one percent of cases, but now it makes up over a quarter of them.

Early lab tests suggest that the variant might be better at evading our immune defenses and could be slightly more infectious than previous variants.

Although in Pima County, the health department says we may avoid any summer surges.

“As far as severity or more infectiousness of the variant is still too early. We are not detecting and incremented and severity of COVID-19 on our time in you’re correct we have not seen an increase the significant increase and the COVID-19 trends. I’m here in Pima county. “

There has only been one reported case of this variant in Arizona. 

COVID cases don’t appear to be on the rise right now, but experts said it would take several weeks to see if this variant does lead to a sharp increase in cases.