Latest COVID worry, FLiRT variants, sparks concern about vaccination rates

A new family of COVID variants nicknamed “FLiRT” is spreading across the country, as vaccination rates remain concerningly low for some public health experts.

While symptoms and severity seem to be about the same as previous COVID strains, the new FLiRT variants appear to be more transmissible, said infectious disease expert Dr. Robert Murphy.

FLiRT is not one specific strain. It is a nickname given to a series of mutations — S:F456L and S:R346T — culled from the letters in the technical mutation names.