The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a new COVID variant is spreading across the country.
The variant is officially named XFG but is being called Stratus.
It was first found in Southeast Asia in January, and at the time was 0% of cases in the U.S., but by the end of June, it was about 14% of cases, the CDC said.
The World Health Organization added XFG, which is a combination of variants F.7 and LP.8.1.2, to its watchlist, but it is characterized as a low health risk. LP.8.1.2 is the second most prominent variant in the country currently, USA Today reported.
XFG was the third most prominent strain for the period ending on June 21.
The symptoms are similar to other variants, with some adding hoarseness to the list, USA Today reported.
In addition to hoarseness, the CDC said COVID symptoms typically include:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing
- Sore throat
- Congestion, runny nose
- New loss of taste or smell
- Fatigue
- Muscle, body aches
- Headache
- Nausea, vomiting
- Diarrhea
The CDC said overall, COVID is experiencing a surge as of July 29, with cases either growing or likely growing in 40 states, declining in zero states and unchanged in nine states, the “Today” show reported.
The largest increases happened in the South, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and Midwest.
The summer surge was expected and followed the trend set by previous years.
“Over the past four years, there have been two waves of COVID each year. It’s like a tow-hump camel. There’s the summer wave that abates in the fall, and then the winter wave,” Dr. William Schaffner, Vanderbilt University Medical Center professor of infectious diseases, said.
The “Today” show said it typically peaks in late July or August, but can stretch into September.
Dr. Andrew Thornton of Wellstar Health talked to Channel 2's Linda Stouffer about some of the symptoms doctors have seen locally.
While the Nimbus strain was known for razor-blade throat because it caused a severe sore throat, Stratus is causing a little bit of hoarseness.
"You still can have congestion. You could still have runny nose. Body aches are still very common. Fever can definitely be present, headache, sometimes GI symptoms like nausea, vomiting or even diarrhea. But the hoarseness is kind of the newest symptom with this Stratus variant," Thornton said.
Thornton also says that deep cough from the early COVID strains, is not a common symptom now.
He says to look for a new COVID booster this fall to protect yourself and others.
"The vaccines have been showing to be effective in reducing hospitalizations. There's also some evidence that it can reduce long COVID symptoms. So if you kind of think about it like the flu, and you just plan to get a COVID booster each year, just like you do with the flu booster, you're going to be protected against the latest strains. You also get a lot of cross protection that becomes cumulative and helps protect you more in the long run," Thornton said.
He added that COVID is still very contagious and people should think about how an infection could affect someone who is a higher-risk patient "like a young baby, a pregnant mother, an elderly person or a person with immunocompromising conditions. So even though most COVID cases we see right now are not that serious in terms of causing hospitalization or death, it could be for someone else."
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