The FLiRT variants of COVID-19 are gaining momentum, with emergency department visits diagnosed as COVID went up 23.3% from the week prior, building up to an anticipated "summer wave" across multiple states, especially in the South, CDC data shows.
The top five states seeing the most substantial increases in COVID-19 ED cases at this time are Nebraska, Idaho, Georgia, Louisiana, and West Virginia.
As of June 25, cases were up across 44 states total, The Washington Post reported.
Per the CDC's most recent data, KP.3, KP.2, LB.1, and KP.1.1, are the top four subvariants of the JN lineage of the virus that are currently infecting individuals across the U.S. The FDA has already advised vaccine makers to develop their 2024-2025 COVID-19 seasonal booster shots using the KP.2 strain due to increased circulation from it and other variants borne from it.
Twenty-one states where COVID-19 ED visits increased most for the week ending June 22:
- Nebraska: 82.1%
- Percentage of ED visits diagnosed with COVID: 0.3%
- Percentage of ED visits diagnosed with COVID: 0.3%
- Georgia: 57.3%
- Percentage of ED visits diagnosed with COVID: 0.4%
- Percentage of ED visits diagnosed with COVID: 0.4%
- Idaho: 56.6%
- Percentage of ED visits diagnosed with COVID: 0.8%
- Percentage of ED visits diagnosed with COVID: 0.8%
- Louisiana: 39.4%
- Percentage of ED visits diagnosed with COVID: 0.8%
- Percentage of ED visits diagnosed with COVID: 0.8%
- West Virginia: 34.9%
- Percentage of ED visits diagnosed with COVID: 0.5%
- Percentage of ED visits diagnosed with COVID: 0.5%
- Virginia: 34.8%
- Florida: 34.7%
- Wisconsin: 33.4%
- Indiana: 30.9%
- Delaware: 29.6%
- Texas: 29.3%
- Pennsylvania: 27.5%
- New Hampshire: 26.6%
- Maryland: 26.6%
- Colorado: 26.3%
- New York: 24.8%
- Ohio: 24.6%
- Iowa: 24.5%
- Nevada: 23.9%
- Massachusetts: 22.8%
- California: 21.7%