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Earlier in the week,\u00a0Chinese doctors\u00a0predicted<\/a>\u00a0a peak of nationwide COVID-19 cases in July as the latest data released by Chinese health authorities show that variant NB 1.8.1 is still the main pathogen causing the rapid increase in COVID-19 infections in the country.<\/p>\n An internal university research report at China\u2019s Peking University stated that\u00a0NB.1.8.1 may become the next dominant global strain<\/strong>, with symptoms including a sharp sore throat, fever, runny nose, vomiting, and diarrhea, according to previous Epoch Times\u00a0reporting<\/a>.<\/p>\n As of June 19, the NB.1.8.1 strain has been detected in at least 15 states,\u00a0according<\/a>\u00a0to a map of data posted by the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data database.<\/p>\n States reporting the variant, which has been dubbed \u201cNimbus\u201d in some media reports, include Arizona, California, Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington state, the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data shows.<\/p>\n Data\u00a0released<\/a>\u00a0last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that NB.1.8.1 makes up 37 percent of all cases<\/strong>, while a previous update from the CDC showed the variant wasn\u2019t even being tracked. As of the latest update, NB.1.8.1 is No. 2 behind LP.8.1, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n In a statement to The Epoch Times in May, a CDC spokesperson said that it \u201cis aware of reported cases of COVID-19 NB.1.8.1 in China and is in regular contact with international partners.\u201d<\/p>\n The Epoch Times contacted the agency on Thursday for additional comment.<\/p>\n The rise in cases is primarily in the eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and western Pacific regions, the World Health Organization\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0in its latest update on May 28. The new variant had reached nearly 11 percent of sequenced samples reported globally in mid-May.<\/p>\n The WHO said some Western Pacific countries have reported increases in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, but there\u2019s nothing so far to suggest that the disease associated with the new variant is more severe compared to other variants.<\/p>\n \u201cFollowing lower circulation in the first ten weeks of the year, a sharp upwards trend reached similar levels as last year. … The recent increases have been observed in four countries and areas to date: Cambodia, China, Hong Kong [Special Administrative Region], and Singapore,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n Previous reports from The Epoch Times, citing Chinese doctors and outside health experts, have said that patients are reporting a sharp sore that\u2019s been\u00a0dubbed<\/a>\u00a0the \u201crazor blade throat\u201d or \u201crazor throat.\u201d<\/p>\n Some media outlets,\u00a0including<\/a>\u00a0The Associated Press as well as international media reports from the UK and India, have used the \u201crazor throat\u201d moniker to describe the NB.1.8.1 variant.<\/strong><\/p>\n Other symptoms\u00a0described<\/a>\u00a0by Chinese doctors to The Epoch Times last month include fever, headaches, fatigue, and coughing, consistent with other COVID-19 infections since the virus spread worldwide in 2020.<\/p>\n Due to the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s (CCP) longstanding practices of covering up information and publishing unreliable data, including underreporting COVID-19 infections and related deaths since 2020, information provided by local doctors and health workers can offer valuable information for understanding the situation on the ground in the totalitarian country.<\/p>\n The WHO has\u00a0designated<\/a>\u00a0it as a \u201cvariant under monitoring\u201d and considers the public health risk low at the global level, while \u201ccurrently approved COVID-19 vaccines are expected to remain effective to this variant against symptomatic and severe disease.\u201d<\/p>\n It comes as U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0last month that COVID-19 shots are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women.<\/p>\nWhere the New Strain Has Been Reported<\/h2>\n
Not More Severe Than Other Variants<\/h2>\n
\u2018Razor Blade\u2019 Sore Throats Reported<\/h2>\n
Some Officials Say COVID-19 Vaccine Effective<\/h2>\n