HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — NB.1.8.1, also known as Nimbus, is the new COVID-19 variant that’s been responsible for a surge in cases in Asia.
"There’s a new variant that’s actually spreading worldwide,” said Dr. Jill Roberts, Associate Professor at the USF College of Public Health.
This new strain has also been detected in parts of Europe and now in the United States.
WATCH: Health officials tracking new COVID-19 variant, confusion grows over vaccine recommendations
“It garnered some attention because it kind of took over the old variant pretty fast,” said Roberts.
This mutation is highly contagious, which is expected now for COVID-19 variants.
“This is probably one of the top three viruses in terms of how well it spreads between people, known to mankind since forever,” said Dr. Janko Nikolich, Professor and Chair of the Department of Immunobiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. He also works with the Global Virus Network.
This strain does not cause more severe disease.
“What is really important to understand is that this variant is not more severe,” said Dr. Christian Brechot, Professor of Medicine at USF and Vice Chair of the Board of the Global Virus Network.
“The virus is not more dangerous than it was before in some ways. It’s not doing anything unexpected,” said Nikolich.
Experts believe it’s possible this variant could spread more throughout the summer and could be the cause of another summer spike. Although at this point, it’s too early to know how big of a spike it could be and when it may peak.
“The immunity from the past variants is going to wane, right? And so then, of course, if we didn’t get infected or we didn’t get vaccinated, we don’t have any immunity,” said Roberts.
The current COVID-19 vaccines that were released last fall still offer some protection against this new strain.
“I think that what this new variant illustrates is that COVID-19 is still there,” said Brechot.
“I know that everybody wants to forget about this disease, but it’s not going to allow us to,” said Nikolich.
This comes as there are mixed messages over COVID-19 vaccine recommendations.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services Secretary, recently announced that the CDC no longer recommends routine COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women.
This has caused disagreements between medical groups and confusion over what to do with future COVID-19 vaccines and boosters.
ABC Action News asked Dr. Roberts, Dr. Brechot, and Dr. Nikolich about the vaccines as conversations around their safety increase. Here’s what they said:
“I would say there’s kind of two diverging messages going on here, but there’s no confusion in the science. The science is really clear. Especially if you are high risk, you should get vaccinated for COVID,” said Roberts.
“What we need to keep in mind is that this vaccine is safe… There have been many studies which show that there are no significant side effects, detrimental effects of vaccination during pregnancy. And there are many studies which show that there is a beneficial effect against COVID-19 for pregnant women,” said Brechot.
“These vaccines are extraordinarily safe… We have good vaccines. Those vaccines can protect vulnerable people,” said Nikolich.
Nikolich is also one of the principal investigators as part of a national study on Long COVID.
Research shows the vaccines help protect against Long COVID, too.
“We know that people with Long COVID, even when they get reinfected and re-exposed, can get their symptoms to be a lot worse,” said Nikolich.
Earlier this year, the FDA expanded warnings about the risk of myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis, inflammation of the membrane around the heart, linked to the vaccines primarily in teen boys and younger men.
Roberts told me the number of complications hasn’t increased, but that the transparency is important.
“The data doesn’t show any increase, but there is absolutely no reason not to have full transparency. That transparency is incredibly important. That’s what builds trust,” said Roberts.
With increased confusion surrounding the topic, the Global Virus Network is dedicated to providing science-based information.
“The positioning of the Global Virus Network is not to criticize the recommendations of the CDC or the administration, this is not our point. We fully respect decisions of the administration and the CDC. We are there to provide science-based information to the clinicians, to the people, to the family,” said Brechot.
We’re expected to learn more about vaccine recommendations over the summer months.
“Some people might question the need for vaccination because of the immunity which has been created by all the infections in the past. I understand this point. However, we should always remember that this virus, this SARS-CoV-2, this COVID-19... does not generate a long-lasting immunity with natural infections. So when we speak of natural immunity, there is no risk of vaccine administration in the face of natural immunity, and second, when there is a risk factor, the age, the medical condition, and so on… It’s always a concern to only rely on the natural immunity, which might actually be waning,” said Brechot.
Doctors nationwide will be watching closely for upcoming advisories because the CDC’s immunization schedule is not only a guide for doctors but is also part of what helps determine insurance coverage.
“My advice to anyone who is confused is, reach out to your healthcare provider. What does your doctor say? Because that’s the person who knows you, knows your health, and knows your risk,” said Roberts.
The next CDC ACIP meeting is June 25-27.
