NB.1.8.1 — a new COVID-19 variant tied to a surge in China — now accounts for around 37% of cases in the U.S., according to variant proportion estimates from the CDC.
Four notes:
- Data has shown the strain to be more transmissible than earlier variants, though there is currently no evidence that it causes more severe disease, experts told CBS News.
- NB.1.8.1 is linked to a surge in hospital admissions in China. Experts say the increase in hospitalizations is linked to the broader rise in infections overall, rather than disease severity.
- The strain was first detected in the U.S. in late March through airport screening among international travelers. In its latest update on variant proportions, the CDC said that the precision for the reporting period is low and that projections carry a wide margin of error, due to the low number of samples sequenced.
- In late May, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the CDC would no longer recommend routine COVID vaccinations for healthy children and pregnant women — a move that drew criticism from healthcare groups who raised concerns that the shift would lead to limited access to the shots ahead of virus season. Two days after Mr. Kennedy’s announcement, the CDC updated its childhood immunization schedule, continuing to recommend COVID vaccinations for healthy children 6 months and older based on shared-decision making.
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