Just when we all thought COVID was far behind us, a new variant has emerged to threaten our well-being once again.

The new variant, known as NB.1.8.1, has made its way to the United States. The variant, which was first discovered in China earlier this year, currently accounts for 10% of the SARS-CoV-2 sequences tested from around the world, according to recent surveillance data found.

That’s a huge leap from 2.5% four weeks ago.

A Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) spokesperson told HuffPost that the agency is in regular contact with international partners about the activity of NB.1.8.1. Currently, only 20 NB.1.8.1 sequences have been identified in the US — which is below the threshold that’s needed for a variant to appear on the agency’s COVID dashboard .

The spokespe

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