WHO Monitors New Covid Variant Spreading in America and Europe
A new Covid variant is being kept under surveillance by the World Health Organization (WHO) as its emergence has led to an increase in infections in several regions of the world. First identified at the end of January, the variant—called NB.1.8.1 but known informally as “Nimbus”—is a descendant of the Omicron family of Covid sublineages, and has become increasingly prevalent throughout the spring in Europe, the Americas, and the Western Pacific. The virus has mutations that may increase its inf