New COVID Variant 'Stratus' With This Distinctive Symptom Drives Up Cases

The new variant XFG, or “Stratus,” has become the third-most dominant strain of COVID-19 this summer and is driving up case estimates in most of the country.

Stratus is similar in symptoms and severity to other Omicron variants, but it may present a never-before-seen symptom: hoarseness.

New data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Stratus accounted for 14 percent of COVID-19 cases in late June. Stratus was first detected in Southeast Asia in January, but didn’t show up in U.S. surveillance reports until May. The World Health Organization classified XFG as a “variant under monitoring” in June.

Getting a full picture of COVID-19 activity can be difficult given shifting priorities in federal and state health policy. But several key measures help put together a picture of what’s happening.

The CDC said that as of July 29, its COVID-19 forecasting models show infection rates are growing or likely to grow in 40 states and are unchanged in nine others. The highest rates of transmission are in the South, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and Midwest.

The public health agency also said COVID viral activity in wastewater remains “low” nationally, but at least 10 states had “high” or “very high” levels, as of July 12.

Emergency room visits for COVID-19 are ticking upward, too.

Although hoarseness is unique to Stratus, symptoms common to other variants include fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, sore throat, congestion and runny nose, loss of taste or smell, fatigue, muscle and body aches, headache, nausea and vomiting, and diarrhea.

The Stratus variant may be better than others at evading immunity protection, according to experts. Although vaccine guidance is changing, the CDC website still says the COVID-19 vaccine helps protect against “severe illness, hospitalization and death.”

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