Payam Javan: A new COVID-19 variant, LP.8.1, an offshoot of the Omicron strain, has become the dominant variant in the United States, accounting for 73 percent of cases as of May 24, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). First detected in June 2024, LP.8.1 has surpassed other variants, with the XFC variant at 10 percent and the XEC variant at 4 percent. Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirms LP.8.1 as the dominant strain, while another variant, NB.1.8.1, has taken hold in mainland China. Neither variant shows evidence of increased public health risk compared to other circulating strains, per the WHO.

In China, NB.1.8.1 is the dominant strain, with reports of a distinctive symptom—a sharply painful sore throat—according to the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, this variant has not significantly impacted the U.S., with fewer than 20 sequences detected, and it does not yet appear on the CDC’s variant tracker. Experts have raised concerns about the accuracy of China’s official COVID-19 data, with some questioning the reported low death tolls given the country’s dense population. The WHO notes that NB.1.8.1 is driving case increases in Southeast Asia, the western Pacific, and the Mediterranean, classifying it as a “variant under monitoring.”