New COVID variant named KP.3.1.1 becoming more prevalent in U.S.

A new coronavirus variant named KP.3.1.1 becoming more dominant in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new variant now accounts for more than 1 in 4 cases in the U.S. as of August 3, Newsweek noted in a report on Monday.

The KP.3 and KP.3.1.1 variants are referred to as "FLiRT" variants, which "appear to have independently picked up the same set of mutations," according to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.