June 12, 2025
Reports indicate that the Nimbus variant of the COVID-19 virus has appeared in 13 U.S. states.
A new COVID-19 variant is circulating, and it comes with a painful symptom.
Some people who have contracted the B.1.8.1 variant, informally called “Nimbus,” reported experiencing a “razor blade throat,” or a severe sore throat, according to Salon. Nimbus accounts for over 37% of new COVID-19 cases in the United States. Other reported symptoms include fever, fatigue, muscle aches, and congestion.
A preprint study published in May 2025, which has not undergone peer review, suggested mutations in NB. 1.8.1 may enhance its ability to bind to human cells, potentially making it more transmissible than other variants. Earlier this year, the Nimbus strain drove surges in China and other regions of Asia. Experts indicate that it’s unclear whether the Nimbus variant will cause a summer surge.
“It’s hard to predict whether this variant or another will take off and cause a wave…but it’s likely that it won’t be as severe as what we experienced before 2023,” Dr. Albert Ko, professor of public health, epidemiology and medicine at Yale School of Public Health, told TODAY.com.
Data from the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza (GISAID) shows that the variant has been detected in at least 13 states: California, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Arizona, Illinois, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
The World Health Organization’s risk evaluation report suggests that the Nimbus variant poses a low global threat. The report also states that current COVID-19 vaccines can protect against severe illness.
This development comes weeks after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed COVID vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant women.
Experts indicate newborns are better protected against the virus when their mothers receive the vaccine.
“The science has not changed,” Dr. Steven J. Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in a statement obtained by NPR. “It is very clear that COVID infection during pregnancy can be catastrophic and lead to major disability.”
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