More Things to Know About FLiRT, the New Coronavirus Strains

3 Things to Know About FLiRT, the New Coronavirus Strains A Yale Medicine expert discusses the FLiRT strains, two new COVID subvariants that emerged in in spring 2024. Yale Medicine

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“Viruses mutate all the time, so I’m not surprised to see a new coronavirus variant taking over,” says Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist Scott Roberts, MD. If anything, he says the new mutations are confirmation that the SARS-CoV-2 virus remains a bit of a wild card, where it’s always difficult to predict what it will do next. “And I’m guessing it will continue to mutate.”

Perhaps the biggest question, Dr. Roberts says, is whether the newly mutated virus will continue to evolve before the winter, when infections and hospitalizations usually rise, and whether the FLiRT strains will be included as a component of a fall COVID vaccine.

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