Doctors Warn “More Transmissible” COVID Variant Is in the U.S. After a Surge in China
The new COVID variant NB.1.8.1 was first detected in the U.S. in late March.
One of the many good things about summer is that the season brings a lowered risk of catching viruses like the cold, flu, and COVID. However, after a new COVID variant tore through China, it’s now landed in the U.S., and experts say “it is more transmissible.” Read on to learn about the risks associated with COVID-19 NB.1.8.1 and how it could affect fall vaccines.
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COVID NB.1.8.1 is the dominant variant spreading in China.
The World Health Organization (WHO) first detected NB.1.8.1, a SARS-CoV-2 variant, in January of this year. However, this past week, the global health agency issued a press release classifying the strain as a “variant under monitoring,” meaning the virus shows structural changes that give it a “transmission advantage” compared to other circulating variants.
To this point, Subhash Verma, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, told CBS News: “Data indicates that NB.1.8.1 does not lead to more severe illness compared to previous variants, although it appears to have a growth advantage, suggesting it may spread more easily. In other words, it is more transmissible.”
This could explain why COVID NB.1.8.1 quickly spread in Asia and is now the dominant variant in Hong Kong and China, causing a surge in emergency room visits and hospitalizations, according to Forbes.
“Hong Kong authorities have been urging their resident to wear face masks in crowded public areas,” Forbes reports. “Meanwhile, Taiwan’s health authorities have been stockpiling vaccines and antiviral treatments to respond to the NB.1.8.1-driven wave that they’ve seen too.”
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It’s now been detected in the U.S.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the two weeks ending May 10, 2025, the dominant COVID variant in the U.S. was LP.8.1, making up 70 percent of cases. This variant took the top spot from XEC in early March.
Though the current number of cases of NB.1.8.1 is too small to be counted by the CDC, the variant was first detected in the U.S. in late March through an airport program that screens arriving international travelers. According to Forbes, it was detected at airports in California, Washington state, Virginia, and New York City. Additionally, cases of NB.1.8.1 have been reported in Ohio, Rhode Island, and Hawaii.
Verma told CBS News that NB.1.8.1’s symptoms are “broadly similar to those seen in earlier strains of the virus,” including cough, sore throat, fever, and fatigue. Therefore, experts believe the new variant won’t make you sicker but could spread more easily.
Amy Edwards, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, who specializes in infectious diseases, also told CBS News that her research shows the variant is more easily transmissible but not more dangerous.
“What they’re seeing in China, Hong Kong and some other areas where this variant has really surged, is an increase in hospitalization, but that seems to be more to do with just a standard summer surge that we’ve been seeing,” she explained.
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Will the new COVID vaccines protect against NB.1.8.1?
Under the Trump administration, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said access to COVID booster shots in the fall is likely to be restricted to adults aged 65 and older and those with underlying health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, or pregnancy. However, as The Washington Post reported, it’s still unclear how this will shake out “because of all the other players involved,” including health officials, insurers, drug manufacturers, and doctors.
When asked about this new framework at a public meeting last week, David Kaslow, director of the FDA’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review, said, “We’re not at liberty to talk about ongoing discussions with specific applicants. But rest assured that we’re engaging with the manufacturers on this topic.”
Adding more confusion is the fact that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is seeking to mandate that all “new” vaccines go through lengthy placebo-controlled clinical trials.
As NBC News explains, the original Pfizer and Moderna vaccines underwent such trials (in which half of a study group receives the actual vaccine and the other half a non-active placebo). Each subsequent booster, since it used the same base formula, only required “smaller studies to test how well the updated shots triggered an immune response against the variant in question.” This is similar to how the flu shot is made each year.
The new rules would change this and make it harder for the appropriate COVID boosters to be available in the fall, since the FDA announced that it has chosen the LP.8.1 strain as the target for this year’s COVID shots, ostensibly making it a “new” vaccine.
As for how the vaccine will protect against NB.1.8.1, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that early data from Pfizer and Moderna suggest that the booster will offer broad protection against the new variant.
In the meantime, Edwards told CBS News that she advises the following to stay safe from any COVID variant: “Good cough and sneezing hygiene, good hand washing, staying home if you’re not feeling well to keep other people from catching what you’ve got. If you’re a little under the weather, but well enough to be out and about, wearing a mask.”
