"New Highly-Infectious COVID-19 Variants with Unique Symptoms Detected in Multiple States and Countries"

The highly-infectious Arcturus variant of COVID-19, first detected in New York in January, has now been identified in 27 states. The variant, believed to be one of the most infectious versions of Omicron to date, is a "recombinant" of COVID subvariants BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75. The World Health Organization has been monitoring the variant since late March and has expressed concern about its potential to become not only more transmissible but more severe. However, population-level immunity from vaccination and past infection may help mitigate the impact of future waves of infection.