{"id":29264,"date":"2021-04-27T14:47:23","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T18:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=29264"},"modified":"2022-02-14T13:29:17","modified_gmt":"2022-02-14T18:29:17","slug":"new-covid-strain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/news\/new-covid-strain\/","title":{"rendered":"See what COVID-19 variants are in the U.S.\u2014and what they could mean"},"content":{"rendered":"

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: As experts learn more about the novel coronavirus, news, and information changes. For the latest on the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit the<\/span><\/i> Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

New COVID strains<\/a> | Variants being monitored<\/a> | Variants of interest<\/a> | Variants of concern<\/a> | Variants of high consequence<\/a> | Contagiousness<\/a> | Vaccines<\/a> | Prevention<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

You finally got your booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine; life is getting back to normal, but wait\u2014what are these variants you keep hearing about?\u00a0 Are they contagious? Can they affect you even if you\u2019ve been vaccinated\u2014and boosted? Keep reading for what we know right now about new COVID-19 variants.<\/span><\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/b>What to expect after the coronavirus vaccine<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

What COVID variants have been found in the U.S.?<\/h2>\n

First of all, it\u2019s important to know what a variant is. Viruses mutate\u2014they are constantly changing. When they do, it\u2019s called a new <\/span>variant<\/span><\/a> or strain. During the COVID-19 pandemic, variants of the virus (SARS-CoV-2) have been found in the U.S. and around the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

New COVID strains are <\/span>classified<\/span><\/a> as variants being monitored, variants of interest, variants of concern, and variants of high consequence by the SARS-CoV-2 Interagency Group (SIG).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This committee was organized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and coordinates across the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), and Department of Defense (DoD).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All COVID variants are being studied and monitored by federal agencies. The goal is to define the countermeasures that need to be taken, such as vaccination, therapeutics, and diagnostics, as new strains of each category emerge. The World Health Organization (WHO) also classifies variants of interest, and those classifications may vary from those in the U.S. The WHO has begun using the Greek alphabet to describe variants, to make it easier to discuss with nonscientific audiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

Variants being monitored<\/h3>\n

The following are classified as <\/span>variants being monitored. <\/b>These new coronavirus variants don\u2019t pose an imminent, serious risk to the U.S., but have a potential impact on approved treatments against severe disease:<\/span><\/p>\n