The World Health Organization (WHO) says the previously predominant LP81 variant has been declining, and that the NB181 strain, which is a variant under monitoring, is increasing.
Image credit: WHO
The WHO reports global COVID-19 activity has been increasing, with the test positivity rate reaching 11%. These levels are being seen primarily in the Western Pacific, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Mediterranean regions. These levels have not been observed since July 2024—when it was 12%—and marks a rise from 2% reported by 110 countries back in mid-February 2025.1
Conversely, countries in the African Region, European Region, and the Region of the Americas are currently reporting low levels of SARS-CoV-2 activity with percent positivity from sentinel or systematic virological surveillance sites ranging from 2% to 3%.1
WHO acknowledges there is limited reporting of COVID-19 associated hospitalizations, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admissions, and from the countries in these regions. 1
One of the more interesting trends is the shifting predominant variants. Whereas, circulation of the previously predominant LP81 has been declining, the NB181 variant, which is a Variant Under Monitoring (VUM), is increasing. NB181 has reached 10.7% of global sequences reported as of mid-May. 1
At the beginning of the year, the most prevalent variant tracked by WHO at the global level was XEC, followed by KP311. In February, circulation of XEC began to decline while that of LP81 increased, with the latter becoming the most detected variant in mid-March. Since mid-April, the circulation of LP81 has been slightly declining as NB181 is increasingly being detected. 1
WHO advises all member states to continue applying a risk-based, integrated approach to managing COVID-19 as outlined in the WHO Director-General’s standing recommendations. As part of comprehensive COVID-19 control programs, vaccination remains a key intervention for preventing severe disease and death from COVID-19, particularly among at risk groups.
Check out our series on this topic, and the most recent news from yesterday regarding the CDC COVID-19 vaccine policy changes. The article below links to other stories in the series.
CDC Pulls COVID-19 Vaccine From Immunization Schedule for Pregnant Women, Healthy Children
As the WHO data suggests of that 2% to 3% positivity rates in the Americas, the US has been mirroring those statistics. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC), COVID Data Tracker, the US has shown a test positivity rate of 3.2% from 4 weeks ago to 2.8% from 2 weeks ago and in the most recent numbers, shows a test positivity of 2% for the last week. The trend has been going downward the last few weeks through May 17.2
The weekly percentage of Emergency department (ED) visits through May 17, was 0.3%. This is a - 6.5% reduction of ED visits from the previous week.2
In terms of mortality, the weekly percentage of deaths was 0.4%. This is a
-20% reduction of mortality from the previous week. The absolute change from the prior week was 0.1%.2
