Covid, LP.8.1: the new variant that is alarming the U.S. Cases have quadrupled in three months.

LP.8.1 derives from the JN.1 variant, the strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus contained in this season’s COVID-19 vaccine. It was first identified in July last year; at the beginning of February, it had been detected in 23 countries. The WHO specifies that there are currently no data on the clinical characteristics of LP.8.1 infection. However, a study published in Lancet Infectious Diseases in mid-February showed that, compared to its “parent variant” JN.1, LP.8.1 has lower infectivity but a higher ability to evade the immune response.