How do we know a pandemic's over?

[Roger Ramjets]

I'm quite happy to wear a mask in areas of high likelihood of infection, not just to protect against covid, but other respiratory viruses as well.

So when you go into a hospital or clinic you wear a mask, even though the staff don't? Me too. I didn't do this before Covid. I was always nervous about being around sick people, but back then wearing a mask was seen as overreacting. Not now!

BTW we better hope this pandemic ends soon, because the next one is nearly upon us.

The mutant bird flu lurking on our borders

Highly pathogenic avian influenza - H5N1, or bird flu - has been flying around the world since the late 1990s.

New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands are so far free of it, but now it has been discovered in mainland Antarctica and scientists say it is only a matter of time before it gets here.

By then, it will be more than just a virus that hits ducks and poultry farms, although that is bad enough.

The virus is mutating and has transferred with devastating effects into wild bird populations.

It has also turned up in mammals.

Cows, ferrets, minks, sea lions, cats on dairy farms, bears - and humans.

There is no certainty on what the virus will do now, or how severe a human epidemic could be, but those alarm bells have started ringing...

...people have died in previous outbreaks where the virus was caught directly from chickens, rather than from other people. In a severe outbreak in Hong Kong in 1997, six people died of the 18 confirmed with H5N1. This was the first outbreak in humans. There have been others since, and the overall fatality rate has been about 50 percent.

 

[The Atheist]

So when you go into a hospital or clinic you wear a mask, even though the staff don't? Me too. I didn't do this before Covid. I was always nervous about being around sick people, but back then wearing a mask was seen as overreacting. Not now!

I certainly wear one where sick people congregate and wore one today when I got my shingles vaccine.

I'm much more concerned about other viruses than covid - I used paxlovid last time and had only the most minimal symptoms.

BTW we better hope this pandemic ends soon, because the next one is nearly upon us.

There's a whole thread on that here: https://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=364142

 

[dann]

So when you go into a hospital or clinic you wear a mask, even though the staff don't? Me too. I didn't do this before Covid. I was always nervous about being around sick people, but back then wearing a mask was seen as overreacting. Not now!

Don't expect any consistency.

I'm fairly convinced that widespread adoption of HEPA, Ventilation, and associated CO2 monitoring is enough to get R_eff<1 in most places. Throw in UVA and masks and it's almost certain. And that's before even talking about better vaccines, which are being worked on.

If you hadn't grasped the enormously simple fact that people will not wear masks by now, you never will.
Good luck with your fantasy world, I'm sticking with the real one.

I used masks as an example, because you were the one who raised the FFP2 masks. I was just stating an obvious fact and if you want to talk human behaviour feel free to explain how you're going to convince people to wear masks, which would need to be an integral part of the illusory elimination strategy you're trumpeting.

That 98% of the population is definitely at the post-pandemic stage, and only the WHO is mentioning covid because they want more funds. Not even medical establishments here (or anywhere else I know of) insist on masks any more. Covid has only been killing people with a toe-tag already ordered for a couple of years now. I'd say well under 1% of non-Asians are wearing masks right now and Asians were wearing them prior to covid so don't count.
There is, however, a tiny minority of people who want to stay in pandemic mode forever. They're clearly suffering from some form of societal anxiety/phobia and it suits them to socially distance and mask up so they don't have to interact with actual people in the real world.
It's quite sad, really.

Cherry-pick all you like, the fact stands that nobody gives a damn about covid in 2024, except for the clowns at WHO seeking funding. Nobody is masking, nobody is failing to attend mass events and covid is the furthest thing from people's minds.
The really sad part is - and you and the doctors at WHO fail to realise this - is that the continued attempts to panic people over covid will backfire spectacularly when a real threat hits, as it must do.
People have so much pandemic fatigue from clowns screaming about masking up after four years that when a really deadly disease hits, the story of the Boy Who Cried Wolf will be the reaction and following guidelines will be impossible. Aesop knew this 2500 years ago but some people are slow to catch on.

I'm not so fine with kids being made to wear them all day in NZ heat, however. It's 28 degrees every day, and kids as young as 5 are being forced to wear masks inside and out all day by their parents.

I posted this in the science thread yesterday.

Since the start of omicron, we've [NZ] had an official 11% of the population infected, and I'm going to err way on the side of caution and say the true numbers are 20%, or 1M cases. (I believe it's more like 40%, using absence numbers at schools and workplaces)
Of that million infections, we've never had over 1000 in hospital, with numbers dropping right now, and maximum 40 in ICU. Deaths are listed at 192, but that is all deaths where covid has been present within 28 days of death. The number confirmed to be as a result of covid is a whopping 43.
It's now abundantly clear that post-vaccination omicron is a very minor issue. The people dying have almost exclusively been very frail people, or as my Aussie mate says, people whose toe tags had already been printed. 'Flu deaths here are ~500 a year, and omicron's going to be much lower than that.Barring a new variant of concern, the pandemic is done and dusted.

I see nothing about long covid to dissuade me from that view, and omicron has shown that nothing will stop it, so the best plan is to ignore it. Masks are fine, but merely delay the inevitable. The evidence of harm among the vaccinated is sketchy and shows no major harm being done to more than a tiny fraction of people, if even that.

I certainly wear one where sick people congregate and wore one today when I got my shingles vaccine.

It's quite sad, really.

 

[bignickel]

Anyone have any idea where to find a site that simply shows how many people have died to Covid in their country this year so far?

Even typing in that simple sentence "How many people have died of covid in USA in 2024" just takes me either to 2 year old sites, or sites full of graphs and charts but not simple actual number.

I mean, we know that in the USA, every year the flu kills roughly what, 26K people? up or down from 20 - 32K a year? It shouldn't be that hard to figure out how many Covid is doing in in the USA, if we already know how many the flu is doing in.

 

[The Atheist]

Anyone have any idea where to find a site that simply shows how many people have died to Covid in their country this year so far?

Everything you need to know is at CDC: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_totaldeaths_select_00

This year, 21,000 dead so far.

Note that those deaths are people who died and tested positive for covid, so it wasn't necessarily the actual cause of death.

 

[dann]

Apri 27, 2024: 1,190,122
Dec 30, 2023: 1,168,312
21,810
However, the latest three week have grey bars. Earler weeks have blue bars. "The blue bars show cumulative provisional deaths due to COVID-19."
I am not sure if it's significant that it says due to instead of with COVID-19.

Nevertheless, it is bound to be considerably more C19 deaths than flu deaths, and it's worth remembering that C19 hasn't replaced flu. C19 deaths are in addition to flu deaths.
There are also people who die months or years after the infection from sequelae.

Because persistent myocardial involvement, such as myocarditis, can cause adverse consequences such as sudden cardiac death during moderate to high-intensity sports, researchers have followed up competitive athletes with previous COVID-19 and found that 46% of athletes had late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) after CMR testing, and 15% of athletes had met the CMR diagnostic criteria for myocarditis.
Research progress of post-acute sequelae after SARS-CoV-2 infection (Nature, April 11, 2024)

(These would be the cases that antivaxxers celebrate under the 'Died Suddenly' headline.)

Some people may die from "hematologic damage due to PASC," kidney failure, pulmonary damage, diabetes, autoimmune diseases etc.

 

[dann]

More about the FLiRT variants: UK, USA, Australia, NZ

The two FLiRT variants were previously mentioned in post 781.

UK:

Covid cases are continuing to rise in the UK as the new highly-contagious FLiRT variants spread rapidly across the country.
After nearly four months at around the lowest levels seen in three years, Covid cases have increased for the third week in a row, driven by new variants together with waning immunity built up from vaccines and prior infections among the public.
Covid cases continue to rise driven by new FLiRT variants (MSN.com, May 12, 2024)

Covid hospitalizations are also increasing.

USA:

What to Know about New Covid Variants, 'FLiRT': Symptoms, Vaccines and More
There’s a New Covid Variant. What Will That Mean for Spring and Summer? Experts are closely watching KP.2, now the leading variant. (NYT, May 10, 2024)

Two new COVID-19 subvariants, collectively nicknamed FLiRT, are increasingly edging out the winter's dominant strain ahead of a possible summer uptick in coronavirus infections.
The new FLiRT subvariants, officially known as KP.2 and KP.1.1., are believed to be roughly 20% more transmissible than their parent, JN.1, the winter's dominant sub variant, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious-diseases expert at US San Francisco.
(...)
With each of these variants that takes over from the one before it, we do see increased transmissibility - it's easier to spread from person to person.
There's a new highly-transmissible COVID-19 variant. Could FLiRT lead to a summer uptick? (LA Times/MSM.com, 11. May, 2024)

Australia:

A subvariant that quickly became the leading COVID-19 strain in the United States was recently detected in Australia.
KEY POINTS
* Highly transmissible COVID subvariant KP.2, which quickly spread through the US, was recently detected in Australia.
* Experts said that, while most Australians don't face much risk, vulnerable populations should remain cautious.
* The public health advice remains the same: get vaccinated, be vigilant and stay home if symptoms appear.
COVID FLiRT strains: What we know about the new subvariants in Australia (SBS News, May 13, 2024)

NZ:

The battle agains COVID-19 continues as New Zealand grapples with concerning levels of weekly deaths due to the virus. The emergence of FLiRT variants, particularly KP.1.1 and KP.2, as added a new dimension to the ongoing challenges faced by health authorities and the public alike.
The Growing Concern of COVID-19 Deaths in New Zealand amidst Emergence of FLiRT Variants KP.1.1 and KP2 (Thailand Medical News, May 7, 2024)

Since it's winter in Australia and NZ, it may affect how fast it spreads there in spite of arriving later than in the UK and the USA.

 

[dann]

If you are younger than 65 the odds of dying of C19 are much lower than from an auto accident. OTOH, if you are over 65 risks go up and you might want to take additional precautions.

For pretty much everyone post-vaccine, the primary risks from SARS-CoV-2 is not acute death. It's sequalae, most notably (but not exclusively) Long Covid.

Focusing on deaths despite this well founded fact is deliberate distraction.

There is also the consideration that death is death, and people still die of C19 - and some of them are still younger than 65. Nobody in their right mind would draw the conclusion that if people older than 65 are more likely to die of C19 than of auto accidents, there is really no reason for them to use seatbelts.

 

[dann]

"Is Covid still deadlier than the flu in 2024? The short answer is yes!"

Research letter, Abstract:

In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, risk of death in people hospitalized for COVID-19 was substantially higher than in people hospitalized for seasonal influenza. The risk of death due to COVID-19 has since declined. In fall-winter 2022-2023, people hospitalized for COVID-19 had a 60% higher risk of death compared with those hospitalized for seasonal influenza. New variants of SARS-CoV-2 have continued to appear, including the emergence of JN.1, the predominant variant in the US since December 24, 2023.4 This study evaluated the risk of death in a cohort of people hospitalized for COVID-19 or seasonal influenza in fall-winter 2023-2024.
Mortality in Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19 vs Influenza in Fall-Winter 2023-2024 (JAMA Network, May 15, 2024)

Is Covid still deadlier than the flu in 2024?
The short answer is yes!
In 2024, Covid remains deadlier than flu.
New research from my team in @JAMA_current
By @Biostayan Taeyoung Choi and @zalaly
A thread

In this study of 11,272 people
8625 hospitalized for COVID-19
2647 hospitalized for flu

5.7% died in the COVID-19 group
3.04% died in the flu group
That is a difference of 2.66% deaths
This translates into 35% higher risk of death in COVID-19 vs flu in 2024

The 35% higher risk of death in people hospitalized for COVID vs flu should be interpreted in the context of 2 times more hospitalizations for Covid than flu
This compounds the rates of death due to COVID vs flu
https://cdc.gov/surveillance/resp-net/dashboard.html
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/newonline/2024/5

Trivializing Covid as an inconsequential “cold” is not based on fact
Here are the facts:
1. Covid still leads to more hospitalizations than flu
2. Covid still leads to more deaths than flu
Ziyad Al-Aly, MD (X, May 15, 2024)

So two years later, it's still nowhere near the truth that "omicron's going to be much lower than" influenza deaths.

 

[marting]

dann,

Sure C19 is still deadlier than influenza. But only if you are older. If you look at the CDC charts in the link you provided above, you will see that flu hospitalizations were twice those for Covid-19 for young people while the reverse was true for older people. Since older people have bad outcomes for both diseases at far higher rates than young people, Covid-19 is deadlier when looking at the entire population. It's just not deadlier for the non-elderly.

 

[The Atheist]

dann,

Sure C19 is still deadlier than influenza. But only if you are older. If you look at the CDC charts in the link you provided above, you will see that flu hospitalizations were twice those for Covid-19 for young people while the reverse was true for older people. Since older people have bad outcomes for both diseases at far higher rates than young people, Covid-19 is deadlier when looking at the entire population. It's just not deadlier for the non-elderly.

That's what drives the panic - I have yet to see any young person panicking over covid.

 

[dann]

What was that sound again? Oh, that was just the sound of goalposts being moved:

I posted this in the science thread yesterday.

'Flu deaths here are ~500 a year, and omicron's going to be much lower than that.

Personally, I have yet to see anyone at all "panicking over covid" since the very early days in 2020 when I saw one (young, not that it matters) man wearing a face mask outdoor and moving off the sidewalk of a not very crowded street whenever he passed somebody. Apart from him, the only people I see panicking are minimizers whenever their lies are exposed.

I have seen and still see photos of people, sometimes very young people, wearing elaborate respirators outdoors. Something like this. Sometimes with eye protection, too. One such photo was a selfie taken at protest against the war in Palestine, and the young woman tweeting it didn't sound panicked at all. I know from her previous tweets that she is immunocompromised and doesn't give a **** about what people think.

Do people like this sound as if they're panicking? Not to me.

I am immunocompromised, so I am quite happy to continue wearing a mask until I am the only person I see wearing one.

Yep, same here, as is Moebob. I stopped in a fast food restaurant to get some lunch the other week. The counter person says to me (through her mask), "Oh, you don't have to wear a mask in here". I reply "But I like my mask, it's a nice mask" and she agreed (got a drawing of Guy Fawkes' features on it).

I don't know the age of crackers, The Man and Moebob, and I don't think it matters.
And we know that that's the next goalpost to be moved because being immunocompromised is not an age thing, so expect "but only (!) if you are older" to be accompanied by 'but only (!) if you are immunocompromised or something else is wrong with you' - maybe also accompanied by stories about wearing face masks indoors "where sick people congregate" while stressing that it is definitely not because of COVID-19, obviously, but about being "more concerned about other viruses than covid."
Panicking much, are we?!
Minimizers gonna minimize.

 

[dann]

"Is Covid still deadlier than the flu in 2024? The short answer is yes!"

dann,
Sure C19 is still deadlier than influenza.

marting,
Yes, it certainly is. And we are talking about the allegedly mild Omicron variants. Not only much deadlier than the flu, but also much more likely to get people hospitalized.

 

[The Atheist]

...panicking over covid...panicking ... panicked ...panicking....Panicking...

Hmmm.

Obsession is funny.

 

[dann]

No, it isn't. It is advisable to give up the delusional obsession.
I know that they may look scary, but they they aren't. Not really. Even most children understand it, once it's explained to them.
Besides, it's none of anybody else's business anyway.

 

[dann]

New Zealand: What would it have been like if the pandemic hadn't been over?!

'Sharp increase' in Covid cases
Covid had been around all summer, and it was still circulating through the community, Betty said.
"At this point, we're not seeing a huge upswing, however, we would expect to see Covid cases increase over winter."
Baker said while current wastewater testing and hospitalisations showed a "sharp increase in cases, we will need to wait for another week or two to see if this increase is sustained".
Covid was not a "seasonal infection" with cases popping up all year round, he said.
"Some of our largest peaks have been in summer - such as the fifth wave we are currently coming out of."
People should get vaccinated against the flu and Covid, particularly those in an at-risk group, Betty and Baker said.
"Stay home for at least five days if you have respiratory symptoms. Wear a mask in enclosed indoor environments with other people, such as public transport and health care waiting rooms," Baker said.
Why is everyone sick right now? What's happening this cold, flu and Covid season (RNZ.co.nz, May 17, 2024)

Schools are splitting classes up and sending students home as they struggle to find enough relief teachers to cover staff sickness.
One principal says there is a "definite shortage" of relief teachers, and with winter sicknesses and Covid-19, the situation is proving "pretty insurmountable" for many schools.
On Thursday, Mt Cook School in central Wellington asked parents not to send their children to school because half its teachers were off sick with Covid.
Principal/tumuaki Adrianne McAllister said the school had managed to stay open so far this week by combining classes and having senior leaders teaching instead.
"Today, everyone was just falling down sick," she said.
Relief teacher shortage, rising staff sickness sees schools struggling to stay open (RNZ.co.uk, May 16, 2024)

Secondary schools struggling to hire teachers - union survey (RNZ.co.nz, May 1, 2024)
Teacher and reliever shortage leaves schools scrambling with students returning soon (RNZ.co.nz, Jan 26, 2024)

This state of ignorance + no protections are now affecting our schools - teachers are out sick and schools have to close.
But no complaints re this. But if they were to ask to do remote learning for a wee while or ask students/staff to wear a mask, ALL HELL WOULD BREAK LOOSE.
WicMar (X, May 17, 2024)

As terrible as I think that attendance dashboard is, where is the govt looking into reasons why attendance is down because teachers are sick and schools are closed?!!!
Ada (X, May 17, 2024)

Yes - and they had the evidence for a long time. But instead they pretend kids aren’t coming to school for fun.

Looking at data for Term 1, 2 and Term 3 in 2022 (when we had our first real wave in NZ)
it tells a clear picture.
Covid affects school attendance.
We need mitigations at schools - not lofty targets. (Mar 19, 2023)

WicMar (X, May 17, 2024)

(See data and graphs in tweet.)

 

[dann]

USA: The new variants KP.2 and KP.1.1

Covid-19 levels are about the lowest they’ve ever been in the United States, but another new crop of virus variants once again threatens to disrupt the downward trend as the country heads into summer.

KP.2 — one of the so-called FLiRT variants — has overtaken JN.1 to become the dominant coronavirus variant in the United States, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data through May 11 shows that it’s responsible for more than a quarter of cases in the country, which is nearly twice as many as JN.1. A related variant, KP.1.1, has caused about 7% of cases, CDC data shows.

FLiRT variants are offshoots of the JN.1 variant — all part of the broader Omicron family — that caused this winter’s wave. The acronym in the name refers to the locations of the amino acid mutations that the virus has picked up — some in places that help it evade the body’s immune response and others that help it become more transmissible.
New virus variants threaten a summer Covid-19 wave, but experts say the risk remains uncertain (CNN, May 17, 2024)

KP.2 is now 28,2% of all C19 cases in the USA and increasing rapidly: CDC COVID Data Tracker: Monitoring Variant Proportions (latest numbers May 11)
KP.2 appears to have almost doubled in two weeks.

KP.1.1 is also increasing fast, but so far it s only at 7,1%.
JN.1, the previous dominant variant, is receding fast.

 

[dann]

CDC Guidance for Preventing Spread of Infections in Schools

The guidance includes everyday actions that schools can take to prevent and control the spread of respiratory and stomach viruses, such as influenza and norovirus, and bacterial illness, such as strep throat. This guidance is designed to maximize school attendance and its benefits for all students, while also preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Being in school provides many benefits, including ongoing learning and social and emotional development.
(...)
“CDC has updated actions schools can take to prevent germs from spreading and keep kids healthy and learning,” said CDC Director Mandy Cohen, M.D., M.P.H. “This update puts lessons learned into actionable steps schools can follow to keep our kids, teachers, and school staff safe.”
(...)
* Teach and reinforce proper hand washing and respiratory etiquette.
* Take steps for cleaner air by improving ventilation in schools. Schools should consider ventilation enhancements and design when undergoing remodeling or when undertaking new building construction to optimize clean air.
* Clean, sanitize, and disinfect, when appropriate.
* Promote vaccinations for students and staff.
CDC Releases Guidance for Preventing Spread of Infections in Schools to Keep Children Healthy and Learning (CDC Newsroom, May 17, 2024)

Kudos for understanding that the current problem of school attendance is not a question of student (or teacher) absenteeism. Kudos for stressing the importance of clean air.
Shame on you for not mentioning C19 and the pandemic.
However, C19 is (only just) mentioned here:
Preventing Spread of Infections in K-12 Schools (CDC)
But why do you have to click two more times to see the word mask mentioned in the context of protection from respiratory diseases?

A thread on X:

This is a thread that cuts through this CDC school guidance like the thread used in Netflix show "The Three Body Problem."
Their guidance will cut down the kids just like were cut down in the show.
Lazarus Long (X, May 17, 2024)

In a so-called natural experiment, two school districts in Boston maintained masking after mandates had been lifted in others, enabling a unique comparison.
Masks Cut Covid Rates in Schools, Study Finds (NYT, Nov 10, 2022)

Pro-Infection Doctors Didn’t Just Want Kids in School. They Wanted Them There Unvaccinated, Untested, and Unmasked. They Wanted Them Infected. (Science-Based Medicine, May 17, 2024)

 

[dann]

The new COVID variants spreading in the US are called 'FLiRT'. But why? (Today/MSN.com, May 18, 2024)

Singapore is seeing a new Covid-19 wave as the authorities recorded more than 25,900 cases from May 5 to 11 even as Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Saturday advised the wearing of masks again.
“We are at the beginning part of the wave where it is steadily rising,” said Ong. “So, I would say the wave should peak in the next two to four weeks, which means between mid- and end of ..June,” Minister Ong Ye was quoted as saying by The Straits Times.
New Covid-19 Wave In Singapore, Minister Advises Wearing Of Masks After 25,900 Cases Recorded In A Week (News18, May 18, 2024)

Reprise du Covid: pourquoi le virus du SARS-CoV-2 n'est pas (encore) saisonnier (Le Parisien, May 18, 2024)

The latest figures from the UKHSA show a 17.9% increase in Covid infections week on week and a 32.6% increase in people admitted to hospital with the virus - while another 92 people have died. It comes as the most common strains now found in the UK are the FLiRT variants KP.2 and KP.1.1.
Dr Mary Ramsay, director of public health programmes at UKHSA, said: “Our latest data shows that Covid-19 cases are still rising."
She has urged everyone who is eligible to get a vaccine at nhs.uk/get-vaccine or call 119. The latest data from the USA shows that Covid carries a 35% higher risk of death than flu, based on deaths in hospitals last winter.
Doctor says FLiRT Covid spreads more easily, and could beat immunity (WalesOnline, May 19, 2024)

A new wave of covid-19 infections is beginning to be noticed in hospitals in Spain. According to data from the Acute Respiratory Infection Surveillance System released by the Carlos III Health Institute, hospitalizations due to covid-19 have quadrupled in two weeks, mainly affecting people between 65 and 79 years old.
Significant increase in infections in Madrid and other communities: incidence and hospitalizations on the rise
In communities like Madrid, infections have skyrocketed in patients aged 60 or over, increasing by 60%. This new outbreak of the disease is also reflected in the fact that the incidence of all respiratory infections has risen from 400 to 477 cases per one hundred thousand inhabitants in Spain. In the case of Madrid, the incidence rises by 56,4% to 445 cases.
The COVID surge is the omicron variant (Bilbaohiria, May 19, 2024)

Um decreto assinado pelo governador João Azevêdo (PSB) declarou situação de emergência em saúde pública em todo o território da Paraíba por causa do aumento de casos de doenças respiratórias graves. O ato foi publicado na edição desta quinta-feira (16) do Diário Oficial do Estado da Paraíba (DOE-PB) e tem validade por 90 dias, podendo ser prorrogado em caso de necessidades.
Governo da PB decreta situação de emergência por causa do aumento de casos de doenças respiratórias (g1.globo, May 16, 2024)

O sinal é de alerta. Diante do crescente número de casos de SRAG (Síndrome Respiratória Grave), o governador João Azevêdo baixou decreto declarando “situação de emergência em saúde pública” em todo o Estado pelos próximos 90 dias. A síndrome é causado por um vírus, que tem imensa capacidade de se multiplicar.
PARAÍBA EM ALERTA Aumento dos casos de Síndrome Respiratória Grave leva Governo decretar estado de emergência (Heider Moura, May 16, 2024)

 

[dann]

Some more news about the FLiRT variants out of Singapore:

KP.2 has also spread to other countries, including China, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
(...)
Singapore's Health Ministry similarly said on May 18 that there are currently no indications that KP.1 and KP.2 are more transmissible or cause more severe disease than other circulating variants.
But slight differences in KP.2’s spike protein might make it better at evading our immune defences and slightly more infectious than JN.1, according to Dr David Ho, a virologist at Columbia University who was quoted by the New York Times.
It could even infect people who received the most updated vaccine, Dr Ho added, since that shot targets XBB.1.5, a variant that is different from JN.1.
"They certainly can evade the immunity conferred by the earlier vaccinations ... or earlier infections before JN.1," said Dr Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious diseases expert at Rophi Clinic in Singapore.
CNA Explains: The FLiRT family of COVID-19 variants and what we know about the KP.2 strain (ChannelNewAsia, May 21, 2024)

It looks like a contradiction in terms to me. And there's this:

However, KP.2 and KP.1 may be more transmissible, said Prof Tambyah, who is the president of the International Society for Infectious Diseases.
(...)
“We know that the XBB1.5 vaccine was about 50 per cent effective against the JN.1. We suspect that the current vaccine will be less effective in preventing infections with KP.1 and KP.2,” he told CNA.
"The chief reason is the presence of the FLiRT mutations. The F amino acid became L and the R became a T. This allowed the virus to evade the existing immunity against COVID."
It has also been several months since many people received their last dose of the vaccine, and that immunity wanes over time.