Expert says ‘you’ll catch Covid again’ thanks to new variant

New variants of Covid have quickly become the dominant strains in the UK, amid fears they could spread more easily than older strains and evade immunity from vaccines and previous infections. The strains, called FLiRT variants, are now spreading rapidly across the globe and have come at a time of rising infections and hospitalizations in the UK.

Lara Herrero, research leader in virology and infectious diseases at Griffith University, said FLiRT variants “are already causing large waves of infections”.

Lara told The Conversation: “Sequencing these subvariants revealed a number of new mutations in the spike protein of the virus, including F456L, V1104L and R346T. The name FLiRT was created by combining the letters of these mutations.”

She added: “The regions of the peaked protein where the mutations were found are important for two main reasons. The first is antibody binding, which influences the degree to which the immune system can recognize and neutralize the virus. The second is virus binding. to host cells, which is necessary to cause infection.

“These factors explain why some experts have suggested that FLiRT subvariants may be more transmissible than pre-COVID variants.

“There are also very early suggestions that the FLiRT subvariants might evade immunity from previous infections and vaccination better than the parental JN.1 variant. However, this research has not yet been peer-reviewed (independently verified by other researchers).

“In more positive news, there is no evidence that FLiRT variants cause more severe disease than earlier variants. However, this does not mean that catching a COVID infection from FLiRT is without risk.”

In the US, FLiRT has overtaken the original JN.1 variant as the dominant strain. The most recent US data suggest that original JN.1 accounts for less than 16% of cases. In other parts of the world, such as the United Kingdom, FLiRT subvariants are similarly on the rise.

Lara said: “The COVID vaccines continue to provide strong protection against severe disease. So if you’re eligible, consider a booster to protect yourself this winter.

“SARS-CoV-2 is now an endemic virus, which means it will continue to circulate around the world. To do this, the virus mutates – usually just a little – to survive.

“The new FLiRT subvariants are excellent examples of this, where the virus mutates enough to continue to circulate and cause disease. To date, there is no suggestion that these subvariants cause more severe disease. They are more likely to cause people to get COVID again. .

“While the information we have at this stage does not give us significant cause for concern about FLiRT variants specifically, we are once again facing an increase in COVID infections. And we know people who are older or vulnerable, for example because of medical conditions. that compromise their immune systems, they continue to be at greater risk.”