The Impact of Genetics on Plastic Surgery Outcomes
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In December 2019, the world started to go through what quickly became a global pandemic. Covid-19 started to spread to all corners of our planet, which led to lockdowns, deaths, and many more consequences. While we’ve returned to how things were before this pandemic, the virus is still affecting people and new variants are being discovered often. This includes the FLiRT variants kp1 and kp2, which we’ll take a closer look at in this article.
What are the FLiRT Variants of Covid?
If you’ve been keeping up with the news, you might have seen a new wave of COVID-19 has affected certain parts of the world, like Singapore. It has spread to the United States as well, with an estimated 4% of COVID-19 cases being related to the KP.2 variant specifically.
This new variant is considered to be a descendant of another COVID-19 variant that was previously discovered, known as the JN.1.
It’s important to note that FLiRT is a name that describes an entire family of COVID-19 variants. The JN.1 and JN.1.7 are variants that fall within the FLiRT category. Now, new mutations of these variations have been reported, and this includes the KP.1 and KP.2 variants.
The term FLiRT was used due to specific technical elements related to how these variants mutated from their previous forms.
A large number of reports surrounding these new strains seem to focus on the KP.2 variant specifically. The CDC has also reported that, at the moment, the KP.2 is considered a dominant strain of the COVID-19 virus in the United States.
One of the biggest questions people have now is whether or not the current booster shots will be effective against the new variants that are starting to spread.
There are a couple of early studies that have looked at the current state of these booster injections. One in particular considered the use of the current booster shot in protecting against the JN.1 variant. This variant is part of the FLiRT family of COVID-19 viruses.
They found that these booster shots are not very effective at protecting against the JN.1 variant. Even though the study didn’t look at the KP.1 and KP.2 variants, it’s important to remember that these are descendants of the JN.1.
The findings of the study likely mean that the efficacy of these booster shots will also likely be ineffective at protecting against KP.1 and KP.2. However, further research is needed to make any conclusions.
Prevention of KP.1 and KP.2 Infections
Since these variants are new and data is still being collected to determine how infectious and contagious they are, it’s important that people take measures to protect themselves.
Keeping up with the latest data regarding where these infections have been found is an important starting point. This will help you understand areas where the risk of infection is higher.
It’s also important to follow other protocols that have been confirmed effective in reducing the risk of COVID-19, such as:
- Wash your hands thoroughly on a regular basis. Use soap and water to ensure you kill any germs on your hands.
- You can consider wearing a mask while you’re out in public. This can help to protect you against airborne strains of the virus.
- Make sure you get the latest booster shots to keep your immune system strong against COVID-19 variants.
- Make sure you practice good hygiene.
If you feel sick, stay at home. In cases where you contract an infection from these new variants, you can reduce the risk of further spreading it by not going out to public places.
Conclusion
New variants within the FLiRT family of COVID-19 viruses have been found, called KP.1 and KP.2. If you’ve had an infection with the JN.1 variant, then it might offer some protection against these new ones. At the moment, there aren’t any studies that show whether current vaccines will work against the KP.1 and KP.2 FLiRT variants.
