CDC Confirms New COVID Variant on the Rise

KP.3.1.1 is ’very similar to other circulating variants in the United States,' an agency spokesperson said.

COVID-19 virus is seen in yellow, emerging from cells. NIAID

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the KP.3.1.1 COVID-19 variant is now the most common strain in the United States, but a spokesperson added that there is no evidence that it causes more severe symptoms.

The most recently updated CDC statistics show that the variant, an offshoot of the KP.3 strain, makes up about 27.8 percent of estimated cases for the two-week period ending Aug. 3. Next is the KP.3 variant, which makes up about 20 percent of all U.S. cases, followed by the LB.1 and KP.2.3 strains.