The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Tuesday, May 28, 2025, that the current uptick in infections is most pronounced in the eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and western Pacific regions.
COVID-19 cases are once again on the rise in several parts of the world, coinciding with the emergence of a new variant identified as NB.1.8.1, according to global health officials.
The appearance of NB.1.8.1 comes as the U.S. revises its COVID-19 vaccination guidelines. On the same day, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that COVID-19 vaccines are no longer being recommended for healthy children and pregnant women. The decision was quickly questioned by many public health experts.
Globally, NB.1.8.1 has already been found in nearly 11 percent of sequenced samples as of mid-May. The WHO has classified it as a “variant under monitoring.”
According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the WHO said that although certain countries in the western Pacific have reported increases in both cases and hospital admissions, there is currently no evidence suggesting that NB.1.8.1 leads to more severe illness than previous strains. Existing vaccines are still expected to provide effective protection.
Meanwhile, the LP.8.1 variant remains the most dominant strain in circulation in both the U.S. and worldwide.
