More Than Five Years Since COVID was Declared a Pandemic, We’re Still Facing the Regular Emergence of New Variants of the Virus, SARS-CoV-2.
The Latest Variant on the Rise is LP.8.1
LP.8.1 was first detected in July 2024 and is an offshoot of Omicron, specifically of KP.1.1.3, which is descended from JN.1, a subvariant that caused large waves of COVID infections around the world in late 2023 and early 2024. The World Health Organization (WHO) designated LP.8.1 as a variant under monitoring in January, reflecting its significant growth globally and genetic changes that may allow it to spread more easily and pose a greater risk to human health.
Symptoms and Severity
Notably, the symptoms of LP.8.1 don’t appear to be any more severe than other circulating strains. And the WHO has evaluated the additional public health risk LP.8.1 poses at a global level to be low. What’s more, LP.8.1 remains a variant under monitoring, rather than a variant of interest or a variant of concern.
That Doesn’t Mean Cases Won’t Rise
COVID as a whole is still a major national and international health concern. So far this year there have been close to 45,000 new cases recorded in Australia while around 260 people are currently in hospital with the virus.
Growing Trend in New South Wales
In Australia, LP.8.1 has become the third most dominant strain in NSW (behind XEC and KP.3). It has been growing over the past couple of months and this trend looks set to continue.
Global Prevalence
Sequences of LP.8.1 in the GISAID database used to track the prevalence of variants around the world, increased from around 3% at the end of 2024 to 38% of global sequences as of mid-March.
Will COVID Vaccines Work against LP.8.1?
Current COVID vaccines, including the most recently available JN.1 shots, are still expected to offer good protection against symptomatic and severe disease with LP.8.1.
Conclusion
While there’s no cause for panic due to LP.8.1 variant at this stage, COVID can still be a severe disease for some. Continued vigilance and vaccination, particularly for medically vulnerable groups, is essential in minimising the impact of the disease.
FAQs
- What is LP.8.1?
LP.8.1 is a variant of COVID-19 that is an offshoot of Omicron and is descended from JN.1. - Is LP.8.1 a cause for concern?
No, the symptoms of LP.8.1 don’t appear to be any more severe than other circulating strains, and the WHO has evaluated the additional public health risk LP.8.1 poses at a global level to be low. - How prevalent is LP.8.1?
LP.8.1 has become the third most dominant strain in NSW (behind XEC and KP.3) and is responsible for around 38% of global sequences as of mid-March. - Will COVID vaccines work against LP.8.1?
Yes, current COVID vaccines, including the most recently available JN.1 shots, are still expected to offer good protection against symptomatic and severe disease with LP.8.1.
