A new family of COVID variants, dubbed “FLiRT,” is spreading across the country, as vaccination rates in Chicago — as well as nationally — remain concerning to some public health experts.
Although the symptoms and severity appear to be about the same as previous COVID strains, the new FLiRT variants appear to be more transmissible, said infectious disease expert Dr. Robert Murphy.
“A new, more contagious variant exists,” said Murphy, executive director of the Institute for Global Health at Northwestern University and professor of infectious diseases at the Feinberg School of Medicine. “COVID-19 is still with us, and compared to the flu and RSV, COVID-19 can cause significant problems in the off-season. »
Murphy urged the public to stay informed about COVID vaccines, especially people who are at higher risk of serious complications from the virus. Although much of the population has some immunity from vaccination or previous COVID infections, Murphy noted that “with COVID-19, immunity wanes over time.”
One FLiRT variant, KP.2, is estimated to account for about a quarter of recent COVID cases, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from late April.
That means it has overtaken the previously most common strain, JN.1, which caused much of the winter respiratory season’s surge in COVID cases and hospitalizations across the country, coinciding with a wave of Influenza and RSV infections around the same time.
The JN.1 variant is estimated to account for about 22% of recent COVID cases across the country, according to CDC data from late April.
Another FLiRT variant, KP.1.1, accounts for more than 7% of COVID cases nationwide, according to CDC data. The name “FLiRT” is an acronym representing the technical names of the mutations causing the family of variants.
Hannah Barbian, a virologist at Rush University Medical Center’s Regional Innovative Public Health Laboratory, has been tracking various COVID variants in Chicago. She said her lab detected the KP.2 variant in Chicago but not KP.1.1, although she thinks that variant will likely also be detected soon.
“Typically, we detect lineages that emerge in the United States in Chicago,” she said.
Barbian added that the new COVID variants “are not unexpected.”
“In this case, they differ only slightly from the variants that were most prevalent before,” she said.
But some public health experts have expressed concern about the emergence of new variants amid low uptake of the updated COVID vaccine locally as well as across the country.
“It is concerning that vaccination rates are so low. Because the best way to be protected is through vaccination,” said Dr. Stephanie Black, acting deputy commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health’s Office of Disease Control. “It helps to have the most up-to-date vaccine.”
She added that a new, updated COVID vaccine will likely be available in the fall.
Sixteen percent of Chicago residents are up to date on their COVID vaccinations, according to Department of Public Health statistics, which are based on exchange data from the Illinois Comprehensive Automated Immunization Registry.
The numbers are higher among older residents, with 34% of those aged 65 to 74 and almost 39% of those aged 75 and over having received an up-to-date booster shot.
City officials, however, say the number of vaccinated residents could be higher based on data from the National Immunization Survey.
Nationally, about 23% of adults and 14% of children were up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations as of late April, according to the CDC, based on data from the National Immunization Survey.
“People with fragile immune systems should take precautions around large crowds and places where they may be exposed,” said Dr. Elizabeth McNally, director of the Center for Genetic Medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine. Northwestern University. “For older adults, it is generally a good idea to stay up to date on vaccinations, as immunity wanes with age.”
In February, the CDC recommended that Americans 65 and older receive another dose of the updated vaccine that became available in September, if at least four months had passed since their last shot.
McNally said it’s difficult to know the impact of the new variants because “there’s not a lot of testing going on these days.”
But she noted that there doesn’t appear to be an increase in COVID-related hospitalizations, nor has she seen an uptick in infections among her patients, who “tend to be pretty sick to begin with.” and to contact me when they are exposed or sick.”
Hospitalizations and deaths from COVID are declining in Chicago and nationwide, according to the city health department and the CDC. The current level of hospital admissions for COVID-19 in the Chicago area is low, as is the case in most of the United States, according to the CDC.
While vaccination rates have declined, McNally noted that this “is in the context of much greater immunity from repeated exposure to natural infection and vaccination”, compared to the early stages of the COVID pandemic.
“This results in faster recoveries and less prolonged illness when people get COVID,” she said. “In 2020, we were dealing with a virus against which humanity had little immunity. Fortunately, it’s very different now.
Eleventis@chicagotribune.com
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