The USA’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s airport screening program has reported discovering multiple cases of a new COVID-19 variant: NB.1.8.1.
There is currently a great surge of this variant wandering around China. Unfortunately, it’s also meant an increase in ER visits and hospitalization.
The variant has now been found in airports (between the end of April and mid-May) in California, Washington state, Virginia and the New York City area, and the travelers in question were from Japan, South Korea, France, Thailand, the Netherlands, Spain, Vietnam, China and Taiwan.
It’s actually pretty widespread, having also been reported in Ohio, Rhode Island and Hawaii.
Hong Kong has already suggested masks in public and crowded spaces, and is stocking up on vaccines and antiviral treatment for what seems to be a more aggressive mutation.
But one wonders what an old vaccine can do against a new variant.
Still, health officials report that mutations are dying down.
