LAist: COVID-19 AMA | FLiRT Variant Has Led to an Uptick in Cases to Start the Summer

LAist program AirTalk recently interviewed Kimberly Shriner, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control at Huntington Health, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai, about how to stay safe during the summer COVID-19 surge.

Shriner told AirTalk host Austin Cross that variants of the so-called FLiRT strain of the virus were the dominant variants in the U.S. as of early July. Their spread has been aided by typical human behavior we see over the summer.

“COVID really is a seasonal and social disease,” Shriner said. “It tends to increase when we gather together. It’s actually taking advantage of perhaps one of the most important things about human beings, which is the desire to be with other people.”

Addressing the rise in these new variants, Shriner told Cross that it’s normal for viruses like COVID-19 to replicate quickly.

“I think it’s reflective of the fact that the virus is always trying to evade whatever barriers we can put up, whether it’s vaccination or natural immunity or masks or social distancing,” Shriner said. “The virus is looking for ways to inhabit hosts and to attach itself to cells so that it can cause the host to make more virus.”

Shriner told Cross that while a new COVID-19 vaccine is expected in time for an anticipated surge this winter, wearing a mask and staying up to date on the vaccinations available now can help provide protection against the FLiRT variants.

“We do recommend for individuals over 65 or who are immunocompromised, or who live with someone who is immunocompromised or at high risk, that they stay up to date on their vaccines,” she said.

Shriner told Cross that additional COVID-19 variants are likely to appear in the future, but added, “The good news is, although they’re more infectious, they don’t appear to be nastier.”

Click here to listen to the entire segment from LAist.