COVID-19 variant KP.3.1.1 becomes dominant in US: See latest CDC data

hey everyone today we're diving into the latest on covid-19 and the new variant that's making headlines kp3 1.1 as of now this variant has become the dominant strain in the United States according to the CDC all right let's break it down the kp3 1.1 variant accounts for 27.8% of positive infections from July 21st to August 3rd that's a significant jump from the previous period where it made a 17.7% of cases meanwhile its predecessor kp3 has dropped from 32.9% to 20.1% this shift indicates that kp3 1.1 is spreading faster and becoming more prevalent now you might be wondering how kp3 1.1 differs from KP 3 well Rosa Norman from the CDC explains that KP 3 1.1 is a sublineage of KP three sharing many characteristics however there's a key difference in the spike protein KP 3 1.1 has one additional change compared to KP three which could impact its behavior and spread understanding these differences is crucial for monitoring the virus's evolution and developing effective strategies to combat it even minor changes in the spike protein can have significant implications for the virus's transmissibility and the effectiveness of vaccines and treatments speaking of symptoms the CDC has hasn't identified any unique to kp3 or kp3 1.1 the symptoms are pretty much the same as those from earlier variants like JN one they can appear between 2 and 14 days after exposure and range from mild to severe common symptoms include fever cough and difficulty breathing now let's look at the bigger picture as of July 30th covid-19 infections are rising in 35 States or territories stable or uncertain in seven and declining in just two the overall test positivity rate for the week was 16.3% up by 2% from the previous week this data helps identify areas with higher infection rates and informs Public Health responses Region 4 which covers eight Southeast States saw a significant increase of 7.2% in positive covid-19 cases from July 20th to July 27th the CDC recommends that everyone aged 6 months and older receive the updated 2024 2025 covid-19 vaccine this is especially important for the elderly and immuno compromise to protect themselves from the virus and its variant so there you have it stay informed stay safe and don't forget to follow the latest guidelines from Health authorities if you found this video helpful give it a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe for more updates thanks for watching