'Razor Blade Throat' COVID Subvariant Emerges: What To Know In PA

PENNSYLVANIA — A highly contagious version of COVID-19 from China nicknamed "razor blade throat" for its extremely painful sore throat is spreading around parts of the U.S., officials said. However, it has not yet been confirmed in Pennsylvania.

The subvariant of Omicron, called "Nimbus" (NB.181) by researchers, has seen a sharp rise in cases in some states, and now accounts for an estimated 37 percent of cases nationwide, according to CDC data collected over two weeks starting on June 7. The ominous nickname emerged after some patients described a sore throat with pain similar to their throat being lined with shards of glass.

CDC data for Pennsylvania indicates that nearly 100 percent of all coronavirus cases in the agency's Pennsylvania region are the LP.8.1 subvariant of Omicron. That CDC region also covers Delaware, Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia; the New Jersey and New York region also has not yet confirmed a case of Nimbus.

However, the most recently available CDC data for Pennsylvania is through May 10, and much of the spread of Nimbus in other parts of the country has occurred since then. In California, it's already the dominant strain.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health no longer publicly tracks specific details on subvariants the same way they did in the height of the pandemic. A spokesperson acknowledged to Patch that cases were rising nationally but confirmed that there have not yet been any reported in Pennsylvania.

"The Department does not have any case counts related to the COVID-19 Nimbus subvariant," a spokesperson for the department told Patch, "As mandatory reporting requirements for COVID-19 ended in Pennsylvania upon the conclusion of the national Public Health Emergency on May 11, 2023."

What to know about the Nimbus

“What sets NB.1.8.1 apart is how quickly it spreads,” said Dr. Magdalena Sobieszczyk, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

While the new subvariants can pose severe symptoms, patients sickened are less likely to be hospitalized, Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a UC San Francisco infectious disease expert, told the Los Angeles Times. A special risk assessment by the World Health Organization shared that view, noting that this subvariant is not expected to be more severe than others.

The subvariant is spreading as federal authorities dramatically scaled back the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine recommendations. Now, the CDC does not offer guidance on whether pregnant women should get a COVID vaccine. The guidance also asks parents to consult a doctor before getting their children vaccinated.

The U.S. Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is a known vaccine skeptic, also shook up the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on June 11, drawing criticism from many in the public health and medical communities.

Kennedy announced eight new members to serve on the committee after removing all 17 of the previous members.

Health experts have also noted that multiple new committee members appointed on June 11 have voiced anti-vaccine viewsthat are not evidence-based.

Abram Wagner of the University of Michigan’s school of public health, who investigates vaccination programs, said he’s not satisfied with the composition of the committee.

“The previous ACIP was made up of technical experts who have spent their lives studying vaccines,” he said. Most people on the current list “don’t have the technical capacity that we would expect out of people who would have to make really complicated decisions involving interpreting complicated scientific data.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.