Health

New COVID Variant Spreading Fast and Here’s What You Really Need to Know

Published on July 28, 2025

A new COVID variant, NB.1.8.1, has quietly started making its way across the globe, and it’s now been detected in the United States. First spotted in China back in January, it’s suddenly picking up speed. By the end of May, it had jumped from just 2.5 percent to 10 percent of global COVID samples tested — a pretty sharp rise in only a few weeks.

According to a spokesperson from the CDC, the agency is keeping a close eye on the variant and staying in regular contact with international partners. So far, only around 20 cases have been confirmed in the US, which isn’t enough for it to show up on the official COVID tracker just yet. But once those numbers increase, it’ll start appearing on the CDC dashboard.

Hearing about another variant might feel a bit exhausting, but experts are reassuring people that NB.1.8.1 doesn’t appear to be dramatically different when it comes to how it behaves or the symptoms it causes. Dr. Zachary Hoy, a paediatric infectious disease specialist from Nashville, said the symptoms are currently looking very similar to other recent variants, reported HuffPost.

NB.1.8.1 is a subvariant of the Omicron JN.1 lineage, which the most recent vaccines have been designed to target. That’s why experts are confident the current vaccines should still offer solid protection — especially against serious illness. Dr. Amesh Adalja from Johns Hopkins says that while vaccine protection against infection itself might not last long, the ability to stop severe illness remains strong.

The World Health Organization has noted that the variant has a few new mutations on the spike protein — the part of the virus that binds to human cells. These changes could make the variant spread more easily and possibly help it dodge some of our immune defences, but at this stage there’s no evidence it causes more severe illness or leads to more hospitalisations.

Symptoms of NB.1.8.1 look much like what we’ve come to expect. A dry, nagging cough and nasal congestion are still common. Fatigue also seems to hit many people who catch it, leaving them feeling drained even if they’re still able to go about their day. Fevers, sore throats, muscle aches and chills are also fairly standard. According to Hoy, some people say recent variants feel a bit milder than the flu, but both can still knock you for six.

Most people who get it will be able to manage their symptoms at home with rest, plenty of fluids and over-the-counter meds like paracetamol or ibuprofen. For anyone considered high risk — older adults, those with weakened immune systems or people on immune-suppressing medication — antivirals like Paxlovid or Molnupiravir could be a game changer, especially if taken within five days of symptoms starting.

If it’s been more than six months since your last jab or COVID infection and you’re in a high-risk group, doctors are urging you to get your booster. For lower-risk people, another dose isn’t considered urgent right now.

And if you’re ever unsure whether you should seek medical help, the key signs to watch out for are chest pain, difficulty breathing, confusion or being unusually drowsy. Those are the red flags that mean it’s time to get checked out by a professional.

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