As people prepare to travel or continue their summer vacations, COVID-19 is still prevalent.
The KP.3 COVID-19 variant is the dominant virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s data.
The CDC no longer regularly tracks and releases the number of new COVID-19 infections after the Biden administration let the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency expire in May 2023. That’s largely because states will no longer be required to report new cases. In addition, home testing, which is mostly not reported to authorities, has made new infections a less reliable metric.
Instead, the agency uses data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) National Vital Statistics Surveillance (NVSS) and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS).
As of May 2024, hospitals are no longer required to report COVID-19 data.
Here is what we know about the KP.3 variant.
What is the KP.3 COVID-19 variant?
The KP.3 variant of COVID-19, also known as part of the “FLiRT” variants, originated from the Omicron lineage, specifically from the JN.1 sublineage, according to IDSociety.org.
The mutations in KP.3, particularly in the spike protein, enhance its ability to infect cells and evade the immune system, even among those who have been previously vaccinated or infected.
According to USA TODAY, during a two-week period starting on June 23 and ending on July 6, the CDC’s Nowcast data tracker showed the projections of the COVID-19 variants. The KP.3 variant accounted for 36.9% of positive infections followed by KP.2 at 24.4%.
COVID-19 symptoms 2024
The CDC has not said if KP.3 has its own specific symptoms. It’s noted that the symptoms associated with KP.3 are similar to those from JN.1. However, the government agency outlines the basic symptoms of COVID-19 on its website. These symptoms can appear between two to 14 days after exposure to the virus and can range from mild to severe.
Here are the symptoms as shown:
- Sore throat
- Body aches
- Cough
- Runny nose
- Shortness of breath
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Loss of taste or smell
- Fever or chills
The CDC said you should seek medical attention if you have the following symptoms:
- Trouble breathing
- Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
- New confusion
- Inability to wake or stay awake
- Pale, gray or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds
COVID-19 data in Texas
Data collected by the CDC showed that five states experienced the biggest increase of 4.7% in positive COVID-19 cases from June 29 to July 5, 2024.
Here’s the list of states and their changes in COVID-19 positivity for the past week.
- Alabama: +2.6
- Alaska: +3.4
- Arizona: +2.1
- Arkansas: +4.7
- California: +2.1
- Colorado: +2.6
- Connecticut: +0.7
- Delaware: +2.3
- District of Columbia: +2.3
- Florida: +2.6
- Georgia: +2.6
- Hawaii: +2.1
- Idaho: +3.4
- Illinois: +2.9
- Indiana: +2.9
- Iowa: +2.3
- Kansas: +2.3
- Kentucky: +2.6
- Louisiana: +4.7
- Maine: +0.7
- Maryland: +2.3
- Massachusetts: +0.7
- Michigan: +2.9
- Minnesota: +2.9
- Mississippi: +2.6
- Missouri: +2.3
- Montana: +2.6
- Nebraska: +2.3
- Nevada: +2.1
- New Hampshire: +0.7
- New Jersey: +2.2
- New Mexico: +4.7
- New York: +2.2
- North Carolina: +2.6
- North Dakota: +2.6
- Ohio: +2.9
- Oklahoma: +4.7
- Oregon: +3.4
- Pennsylvania: +2.3
- Puerto Rico: +2.2
- Rhode Island: +0.7
- South Carolina: +2.6
- South Dakota: +1.5
- Tennessee: +2.6
- Texas: +4.7
- Utah: +2.6
- Vermont: +0.7
- Virginia: +2.3
- Washington: +3.4
- West Virginia: +2.3
- Wisconsin: +2.9
- Wyoming: +2.6
Protection from KP.3 and other variants
The CDC recommends the 2023–2024 updated COVID-19 vaccines — Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Novavax — to protect against serious illness from COVID-19.
Here is what the CDC says about those dosages.
- Everyone aged five years and older should get one dose of an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against serious illness from COVID-19.
- Children aged six months to 4 years may need multiple doses of COVID-19 vaccines to be up to date, including at least one dose of updated COVID-19 vaccine.
- People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may get additional doses of the updated COVID-19 vaccine.
- People aged 65 years and older who received one dose of any updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Novavax) should receive one additional dose of an updated COVID-19 vaccine at least four months after the previous updated dose.
— USA Today contributed to this report.
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