KP.3 Variant, Omicron Sublineage Variant
KCDC "Patient Numbers Likely to Increase Until the End of This Month"
COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) is spreading again. The number of new COVID-19 hospitalizations has increased more than fivefold in the past month. Despite the scorching weather, more people are wearing masks due to the resurgence of COVID-19. As indoor activities increase because of the hot weather, the spread is expected to continue for the time being.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on the 9th, the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations over the past four weeks surged 5.8 times, from 148 in the second week of last month, 226 in the third week, 475 in the fourth week, to 861 in the first week of this month.
An elderly person visiting the pharmacy street in Jongno-gu, Seoul, is wearing a mask. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@
By age group, those aged 65 and older accounted for the largest share at 65.2% (8,087) of the total hospitalized patients (12,407), followed by those aged 50-64 at 18.1% (2,251), and those aged 19-49 at 10.3% (1,283).
Along with the increase in hospitalizations, the detection rate of COVID-19 pathogens is also on the rise. As of the first week of this month, the detection rate was 39.2%, marking an increase for four consecutive weeks.
The KDCA explained that unlike typical respiratory viruses that spread in winter, COVID-19 has shown a pattern of spreading during the summer months of July and August over the past two years. The KDCA stated, "Considering the trend of the past two years, the number of COVID-19 patients is expected to increase until the end of this month."
The virus currently driving the outbreak is the KP.3 variant virus, a sub-lineage of Omicron. This virus is a variant derived from Omicron JN.1 and has three additional mutations in the S protein compared to JN.1, which is believed to slightly increase immune evasion.
KP.3 is also spreading overseas. Since it was first detected in the United States in February this year, 29,804 cases have been confirmed in 52 countries. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of the 27th of last month, the COVID-19 test positivity rate in the U.S. was 16.3%, an increase of about 14.3% from the previous week.
The U.S. media outlet USA Today reported that "In April this year, KP.2 rapidly surpassed JN.1, the Omicron variant that led to a surge in COVID-19 cases last winter, and within weeks, KP.3 overtook KP.2 to become the most widespread variant," highlighting the rapid spread.
However, the severity of KP.3 is considered low. William Schaffner, a professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, told the media that FLiRT variants like KP.3, similar to JN.1 and other Omicron subvariants, appear to cause milder infections.
Meanwhile, the government plans to actively respond to the spread of COVID-19. The KDCA will promptly introduce additional treatments within this month to continuously protect high-risk groups until COVID-19 therapeutics can be stably supplied within the general medical system. Additionally, more than 5 million self-test kits will be produced and supplied within this month. COVID-19 vaccinations will begin in October.
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