A new coronavirus variant is on the rise across the country — including in California.

Cases of the new strain, known as KP.3.1.1, have nearly doubled in recent weeks, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of Aug. 3, the variant was linked to about 27.8% of all COVID-19 cases.

Eric Topol, a molecular medicine professor at Scripps Research, wrote in a post on X that the new variant poses “more of a challenge to our immune response than KP.3 and prior variants” — especially for those without latest vaccinations.

COVID-19 activity levels in California are “very high,” according to the CDC’s detection in wastewater surveys around the United States.

What are the symptoms of new COVID-19 variant?

KP.3.1.1 is among the novel coronavirus strains known as “FLiRT” variants, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

While the new strains of COVID-19 are “indeed more transmissible than the original (ancestral) strain of SARS-CoV-2,” variations in symptoms between the FLiRT variants and the original COVID-19 strain have not yet been identified, the medical association reported in July.

Symptoms of KP.3.1.1 are similar to those of the other COVID-19 variants. They include:

•Fever or chills

•Cough

•Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

•Fatigue

•Muscle or body aches

•Headache

•New loss of taste or smell

•Sore throat

•Congestion or runny nose

•Nausea or vomiting

•Diarrhea

How can I treat coronavirus symptoms?

According to the CDC, COVID-19 treatments should be started within five to seven days after you first develop symptoms.

Most people with COVID-19 can use over-the-counter medications, including acetaminophen and ibuprofen, to recover at home, the CDC said.

“If you think you could have COVID-19 and are at higher risk for severe illness, talk to your health care provider,” the CDC said on its website.

COVID-19 medications require a prescription from a health care provider.

Will COVID vaccines protect me against variants?

“The newest vaccine works really well” to protect yourself from FLiRT variants,” Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a professor and doctor specializing in infectious disease at the University of California, San Francisco, told The Sacramento Bee in May.

The latest coronavirusvaccine was released in the fall.

Vaccines are consistently updated to the latest strain of COVID-19 to help people avoid severe disease and hospitalization, Chin-Hong said.

Individuals aged 6 months and older are eligible to stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines, according to the CDC.

In June, the CDC announced the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be available this fall.

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