COVID ‘Razor Throat’ Variant Now Found In 15 US States: Here’s What We Know

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The COVID-19 variant that has driven a rise in cases in mainland China is now detected in more than a dozen U.S. states, according to data released by a private tracking firm.

Earlier in the week, Chinese doctors predicted a peak of nationwide COVID-19 cases in July as the latest data released by Chinese health authorities show that variant NB 1.8.1 is still the main pathogen causing the rapid increase in COVID-19 infections in the country.

An internal university research report at China’s Peking University stated that NB.1.8.1 may become the next dominant global strain, with symptoms including a sharp sore throat, fever, runny nose, vomiting, and diarrhea, according to previous Epoch Times reporting.

Where the New Strain Has Been Reported

As of June 19, the NB.1.8.1 strain has been detected in at least 15 states, according to a map of data posted by the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data database.

States reporting the variant, which has been dubbed “Nimbus” in some media reports, include Arizona, California, Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington state, the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data shows.

Data released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that NB.1.8.1 makes up 37 percent of all cases, while a previous update from the CDC showed the variant wasn’t even being tracked. As of the latest update, NB.1.8.1 is No. 2 behind LP.8.1, according to the CDC.

In a statement to The Epoch Times in May, a CDC spokesperson said that it “is aware of reported cases of COVID-19 NB.1.8.1 in China and is in regular contact with international partners.”

The Epoch Times contacted the agency on Thursday for additional comment.

Not More Severe Than Other Variants

The rise in cases is primarily in the eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and western Pacific regions, the World Health Organization said in its latest update on May 28. The new variant had reached nearly 11 percent of sequenced samples reported globally in mid-May.

The WHO said some Western Pacific countries have reported increases in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, but there’s nothing so far to suggest that the disease associated with the new variant is more severe compared to other variants.

“Following lower circulation in the first ten weeks of the year, a sharp upwards trend reached similar levels as last year. … The recent increases have been observed in four countries and areas to date: Cambodia, China, Hong Kong [Special Administrative Region], and Singapore,” it said.

‘Razor Blade’ Sore Throats Reported

Previous reports from The Epoch Times, citing Chinese doctors and outside health experts, have said that patients are reporting a sharp sore that’s been dubbed the “razor blade throat” or “razor throat.”

Some media outlets, including The Associated Press as well as international media reports from the UK and India, have used the “razor throat” moniker to describe the NB.1.8.1 variant.

Other symptoms described by Chinese doctors to The Epoch Times last month include fever, headaches, fatigue, and coughing, consistent with other COVID-19 infections since the virus spread worldwide in 2020.

Due to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) longstanding practices of covering up information and publishing unreliable data, including underreporting COVID-19 infections and related deaths since 2020, information provided by local doctors and health workers can offer valuable information for understanding the situation on the ground in the totalitarian country.

Some Officials Say COVID-19 Vaccine Effective

The WHO has designated it as a “variant under monitoring” and considers the public health risk low at the global level, while “currently approved COVID-19 vaccines are expected to remain effective to this variant against symptomatic and severe disease.”

It comes as U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced last month that COVID-19 shots are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women.

The Associated Press and Alex Wu contributed to this report.