There are no signs so far that the new LB.1 variant is causing more severe disease in COVID-19 patients, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, as infections have begun to accelerate in this summer’s wave around the country.
The LB.1 variant currently makes up 17.5% of new COVID cases, the CDC projected Friday, and could be on track to overtake its sibling, the KP.3 variant, which has also been growing in recent weeks.
“There is currently no evidence that KP.3 or LB.1 cause more severe disease. CDC will continue to track SARS-CoV-2 variants and is working to better understand the potential impact on public health,” CDC spokesperson David Daigle said in a statement.
The reason behind any potential shifts to the symptoms or severity of disease caused by new variants is complex, affected by people’s underlying immunity from a mix of past infections and vaccinations as well as changes to the virus itself.
The CDC has said in the past that it closely tracks the toll inflicted by the latest strains largely based on data and studies from hospitals, comparing trends from places where new variants have emerged first.