July 22, 2024- COVID cases have been rising across the U.S. this summer. The KP.3 COVID-19 variant continues to lead as the dominant variant, according to the Centers for Disease Control, data also shows that variant KP.3.1.1 is also increasing. The CDC’s Nowcast data tracker showed the projections of the COVID-19 variants for a two-week period starting on July 7 and ending on July 20, according to the CDC and USA Today. The KP.3 variant accounted for 32.9% of positive infections, followed by KP.3.1.1, at 17.7%. Combined, the two variants make up 50.6% of cases.
The data also shows that from June 23 to July 6, KP.3 was at 33.7% during the previous two-week period. The strain decreased in positivity by 0.8%. However, KP.3.1.1. rose 10.9% from 6.8% for the period ending on July 6 to 17.7% on July 20.