Covid Update: Good News, Good News, and Very Bad News

New variants of the COVID virus have arisen by mutation and recombination between previously circulating strains. The dominant variant now circulating in the United States is called LP.8.1. There is no evidence that it causes more severe disease than previous variants. Although LP.8.1 has several changes from its predecessors, the good news is that a recent report (doi.org/10.1101/2025.05.02.651777) showed that vaccination with the current COVID vaccine generates antibodies that recognize the LP.8.1 virus. This indicates that no new vaccine needs to be designed for your fall booster shot. Good news.

The number of COVID cases in California and San Diego County continues to decline. The latest data from the CDC lists 10 COVID-related deaths/week in California, a smaller number than previous weeks. There were 13 hospitalizations for COVID in San Diego County for the last reported week, also a reduction from earlier this year. Also good news.

A graph from the CDC shows COVID-related deaths in California since the beginning of the pandemic, with the scale in thousands of deaths per week. The rapid development of mRNA vaccines for COVID saved thousands of lives, and the current number of 10 deaths per week barely registers on the graph.

It is important to remember that a new variant that is not recognized following a booster with the current vaccine will require a new mRNA vaccine. Unfortunately, all research related to mRNA vaccines funded by the National Institutes of Health has been halted due to unfounded concerns by vaccine deniers and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Future vaccines will have to be developed by private entities with no help from the federal government, and FDA approval is uncertain. Very bad news.