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A New COVID Variant, NB.1.8.1, Is Starting to Spread in the U.S. What Are Its Symptoms? [1]
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Date: 2025-06-04 16:06:22.412000+00:00
A fast-spreading new COVID-19 variant which caused surges in parts of Asia this spring has been detected in several U.S. states, sparking concern about whether it could fuel a summer wave.
Although the pandemic is over, the virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, is still spreading. It's also mutating, which causes new variants to emerge. Currently making headlines is NB.1.8.1, an omicron variant that popped up in January and quickly became the dominant strain in China and Hong Kong. In recent weeks, NB.1.8.1 has been detected in the United States, from California to New York.
As of May 29, fewer than 20 cases of NB.1.8.1 have been detected in the U.S., a spokesperson for the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention told NBC News. However, cases are expected to increase.
Every year since 2020, COVID cases have spiked in the U.S. between June and August — and 2025 should be no exception, experts say. Last year, the “FLiRT” variants drove a late summer surge across the country, which was the second-largest summer wave the U.S. has seen since the pandemic began.
Many respiratory viruses, such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), follow predictable seasonal patterns, peaking around the same time every winter. COVID-19, however, has no distinct season and can surge throughout the year at different times, according to the CDC.
"Over the last several years, there have been waves of COVID during the winter and in the late summer," Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, tells TODAY.com. "COVID trends look like a two-humped camel, so it comes up twice a year," says Schaffner.
However, the timing and severity of COVID-19 waves can vary.
Last winter, the U.S. saw a "silent surge" of COVID around the holidays. After a spring lull, experts are warning that cases will likely rise again in the coming months, but it's unclear when — and this time, the country may not be as prepared.
Public attitudes and the government's response to COVID have shifted. “People have become rather blasé about COVID-19," says Schaffner. The government stopped mailing out free at-home COVID-19 testing kits earlier this year, and new vaccination guidelines may limit access to shots in the fall.
Here's what to know about the new NB.1.8.1 variant and what to expect this summer, according to experts.
Will There Be a COVID Surge This Summer?
Experts predict that based on previous trends, there will be an uptick in COVID-19 cases between now and August. “COVID may not have completely settled into a (predictable) yearly pattern yet, but it certainly has spiked the past four summers, and we anticipate that this will happen again this summer,” says Schaffner.
COVID-19 test percent positivity, by week in the U.S, from 2020 to present CDC
However, it's too soon to tell when the summer COVID-19 wave will peak and how severe it will be compared to past years.
The CDC no longer tracks the total number of new cases in the U.S., so wastewater data is an increasingly valuable tool to understand COVID trends, Marlene Wolfe, Ph.D,, principal investigator at WastewaterSCAN, tells TODAY.com.
“We don’t see any significant upward trends happening yet, but we’ll continue to watch this closely,” says Wolfe. As of May 28, the levels of COVID-19 viral activity in wastewater are “low” nationally, according to CDC data. However, this is expected to change.
COVID spreads during the summer due to several factors. The SARS-CoV-2 virus mutates easily and seems to adapt better to hot, humid weather than other respiratory viruses, the experts note.
Population immunity, either from vaccination or previous infection, also tends to wane by the summer, Andy Pekosz, Ph.D., professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, tells TODAY.com.
“The longer we get from the last surge or the last vaccination campaign, the more people are susceptible," says Pekosz.
Uptake of the 2024-2025 COVID vaccine released last fall was been relatively low. As of April 26, only 23% of adults had received the shot, per the CDC.
“So summer will be a time when the population is sort of ripe for another wave of COVID,” Pekosz adds.
Another factor in summer COVID spread is the increase in travel and social gatherings in indoor, air-conditioned spaces. And in the past, summer surges of COVID-19 have usually been partly due to the emergence of new variants, the CDC says.
Currently, the variants circulating in the U.S. are descendants of JN.1, an omicron strain that emerged last summer, says Pekosz. As of May 28, the LP.8.1 variant is driving 70% of infections in the U.S., per CDC data.
However, a new variant is drawing attention.
What is the New COVID Variant, NB.1.8.1?
NB.1.8.1 recently caused large COVID surges in China and other parts of Asia, Michael Hoerger, Ph.D., associate professor at Tulane University School of Medicine, tells TODAY.com.
On May 23, the World Health Organization designated NB.1.8.1 a “variant under monitoring” due to its rapid global spread and mutations which may increase its transmissibility. At that time, the variant had been reported in 22 countries and accounted for just over 10% of COVID cases globally.
NB.1.8.1 is a recombinant of XDV.1.5.1, per the WHO. It's similar to the dominant LP.8.1 variant, but has additional spike protein mutations that may affect its ability to evade immunity.
Just like other omicron strains, NB.1.8.1 is highly contagious, but it's too soon to tell if it's more transmissible than other strains.
An April study that was not peer-reviewed noted that NB.1.8.1 has additional mutations that give it the “potential for future dominance” over other current variants.
Where has NB.1.8.1 been detected in the U.S.?
As of June 4, NB.1.8.1 has been reported in several U.S. states, including Arizona, California, New York, New Jersey, Hawaii, Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington, according to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) database.
The first cases of NB.1.8.1 in the U.S. were picked up in late March through airport screening programs for international travelers.
So far, there have been too few sequences of NB.1.8.1 in the U.S. for the variant to be added to the CDC’s variant dashboard. “It’s still in the early stages of emergence,” Pekosz adds.
A decline in testing and sequencing is making it harder to track new variants in real time. “We don’t have the same wealth of information that we had early in the pandemic,” says Wolfe.
It’s unclear whether NB.1.8.1 will become widespread the in the U.S. or drive a summer wave. “If it does take off here, it may affect the timing of the summer peak, causing it to come earlier ... but COVID is unpredictable, so that's my best guess,” Hoerger adds.
Is NB.1.8.1 more severe?
So far, there's no evidence that NB.1.8.1 causes more serious illness. "Current data do not indicate that this variant leads to more severe illness than other variants in circulation," the WHO said.
The global risk posed by NB.1.8.1 is considered “low,” the WHO said.
Although omicron strains like NB.1.8.1 are very contagious, they don’t seem to lead to more hospitalizations compared to earlier variants. “These newer variants tend to cause a substantial amount of mild infection,” says Schaffner, adding that this is partly due to high population immunity.
“Over 90% of people living in the U.S. have had previous experience with COVID,” says Schaffner.
Hoerger adds that NB.1.8.1 is "something we should be keeping an eye on, but it's hard to say what the effect will be in the United States."
Symptoms of NB.1.8.1 COVID Variant
The symptoms of the new NB.1.8.1 variant are similar to other newer omicron variants. According to the CDC, common COVID symptoms include:
Cough
Sore throat
Congestion or runny nose
Fatigue
Fever or chills
Headache
Body aches
Shortness of breath
Diarrhea
New loss of sense of taste or smell
Symptoms can vary from person to person.
People of all ages can still get very sick with COVID-19, but some groups are more likely to develop severe illness, per the CDC. These include people over the age of 65, young infants, and people who are immunocompromised or have underlying medical conditions.
"The risk of long COVID, as far as we know, also continues to increase every time someone gets infected," says Hoerger.
Should You Get a COVID Vaccine?
The COVID vaccine helps protect people from severe illness, hospitalization and death.
The current 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines, released last fall, target either the JN.1 variant or its descendant, KP.2. These shots are still available and recommended for people ages 6 months and older, the CDC says on its website.
Ahead of a potential summer surge, should you get a booster? "I would recommend that anyone who has not been vaccinated recently get vaccinated if they can," says Hoerger.
"People at high risk are recommended to get a pre-summer COVID vaccine in addition to the one that precedes the winter rise (in the fall)," says Schaffner.
However, new guidelines may make it harder for certain groups to get the new COVID vaccines this fall.
The updated COVID vaccines for 2025–2026 will target the LP.8.1 variant, the Food and Drug Administration said, which differs from the FDA vaccine advisory committee's recommendation to stick to the strains used in the current shots.
Drugmaker Moderna announced that the FDA had approved its lower-dose COVID-19 vaccine for adults 65 and older, and people ages 12-64 with at least one underlying medical condition. The approval is limited to individuals who have previously received a COVID vaccine.
The CDC also no longer recommends routine COVID vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on May 27. However, many obstetricians and pediatricians disagree with this change, which could affect insurance coverage of the shots.
The new COVID vaccines for healthy children and adults will have to go through clinical trials before they can get approved, which could take about a year, NBC News reported. However, the updated 2025–2026 COVID shots should still be available this fall for people who are over the age of 65 or have underlying medical conditions.
If you have questions about COVID-19 vaccines, talk to your doctor.
How to Prevent COVID-19
When COVID cases rise, people can take simple actions to protect themselves and their families from COVID-19. "It's important to be prepared,” says Schaffner.
The experts recommend taking the following steps to prevent infection and avoid spreading COVID-19 to others:
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[1] Url:
https://www.today.com/health/coronavirus/new-covid-variant-nb181-symptoms-rcna208189
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