A new variant of Covid-19, called “FLiRT”, is already present in the United States and is emerging in Europe, where it has been detected in fourteen countries.
- KP.2 is the new variant of Covid-19, from the new FLiRT family.
- Since May, this variant has been the majority in the United States.
- In Europe, it has been detected in 14 countries, including Spain where 24 cases were detected last week per 100,000 inhabitants, three times more infections than in the first week of May.
Covid-19 seems far away and yet the virus continues to mutate… Currently, in the United States, a new family of variants is circulating, grouped under the name FLiRT. And one of the variants in this family, called KP.2, is more worrying than the others because it is more contagious.
The KP.2 variant present in fourteen European countries
At the end of March, in the United States, KP.2 represented 3.8% of contaminations according to figures from Free Midday. Two months later, since the beginning of May, this variant has become dominant in the country, with a presence in 28.2% of contaminations.
In Europe, KP.2 is emerging. According to the Independent, it has already been spotted in fourteen countries, including Spain, where cases are increasing. As reported by the Catalan media Rac1during the last week, 24 cases were detected per 100,000 inhabitants, three times more infections than the first week of May.
“We don’t see anything new or different [en ce qui concerne les symptômes des infections par ce nouveau variant], indicate researchers from Johns – Hopkins University in Baltimore. This is probably not because the virus is milder, but because our immunity is now much stronger. After years of vaccinations and infections, most of the population is better able to fight off infection.“
FLiRT, this new family of variants is derived from JN.1, the majority in the world since last fall. But, according to one recent study conducted by Japanese researchers, which has not been validated by its peers, KP.2 would be less contagious than JN.1.
No new wave of Covid-19
“My impression is that[il n’y aura pas de nouvelle vague] since these are mutations to which we have already been exposed, explains Dr. Eric Topol, executive vice president of the American biomedical research center Scripps Research in a recent scientific article. My projection indicates that we could see a [augmentation des cas] but not to a significant new wave of infections resulting from FLiRT variants.”
Between these two variants, JN.1 and FLiRT, the difference lies in two mutations which allow FLiRT to escape the antibodies developed against the previous variants. THE Time Magazine reassures: vaccines would still be effective against FLiRT variants to protect against severe forms of Covid-19.
But the media also cites other studies, such as this one led by Chinese researchers, which has not been validated by its peers. The results indicate that FLiRT variants may be more effective than JN.1 in evading immune protection from vaccines.
So, will we need to develop new vaccines? This is the opinion of the World Health Organization (WHO). In a communicatedthe health body recommends that future vaccine formulations be based on the JN.1 lineage because, in the future, the virus is expected to evolve from this variant lineage.
