A new COVID variant is now dominant in the U.S. Will it cause another massive surge like Omicron? By

Once again, COVID-19 cases are rising sharply across the world, along with hospitalizations and death. That also means more cases of so-called long COVID, in which some people take months or years to recover from this illness. We're in the midst of this year's winter wave of respiratory illness, including flu and RSV, but COVID-19 is by far the most worrisome. How bad will this winter be? No one can say for sure, but one of the ways experts can make predictions is by analyzing the genetics of the viruses responsible and gauging caseloads.

The virus that triggers COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, keeps mutating, as viruses naturally do, which can change the landscape of the ongoing pandemic. As of Friday, JN.1 is now the most dominant strain the United States, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.) The agency also reported more than 25,000 Americans were hospitalized from COVID the week ending Dec. 16, a 10 percent increase from the previous week, while the CDC director Mandy Cohen has said we're not yet near the peak.