‘Razor blade throat’ COVID-19 variant emerges
The new COVID-19 variant carries with it a series of symptoms, including leaving those sick with a feeling of razor blades in their throat.
- Health officials recently detected a new strain of COVID-19.
- An intense throat pain symptom of the variant is being called razor blade throat.
If you’re feeling sick and your throat pain is quite severe, you may have caught the latest COVID-19 variant, known for its “razor blade” sore throat.
The new COVID variant, NB.1.8.1, was first detected in China in January 2025, USA TODAY reported. The infectious disease can be prevented and managed with COVID vaccines, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Considering the available evidence, the additional public health risk posed by NB.1.8.1 is evaluated as low at the global level,” the WHO stated in a May report. “Currently approved COVID-19 vaccines are expected to remain effective to this variant against symptomatic and severe disease.”
The World Health Organization is currently monitoring the variant.
Here’s what to know.
What is ‘razor blade throat’?
An extremely sore throat, or “razor blade throat,” is a symptom associated with the new variant.
People with the variant are saying it feels like their throats are covered with razor blades, according to Los Angeles Times, Fox News, SF Gate, and other news outlets. Many people have also taken to social media to describe the “razor blade throat.”
“I’ve just had the new variant and the sore throat was awful!” said one person on a Reddit thread. “Started scratchy and went downhill from there.”
“I had a sore throat last Saturday night, started sort of just scratchy, then progressed into not being able to swallow and kept me up all night,” commented another user.
It isn’t the first time a symptom like this has been described.
With other strains, people said their throats felt like they had shards of glass jutting out, due to the extreme pain of their sore throats. This symptom, however, is gaining more popularity as the COVID-19 variant spreads.
How can you protect yourself from ‘razor blade throat’ COVID and other variants?
The World Health Organization says currently approved COVID-19 vaccines are expected to remain effective against the NB.1.8.1 variant.
In a webpage dated Jan. 7, 2025, the CDC advises that everyone over the age of 6 months get the 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccine, specifically the 2024-25 Moderna version.
The CDC also suggests people who have never received a COVID-19 vaccine, are age 65 and older, are immuno-compromised, live at a long-term care facility, are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant, and/or want to avoid getting long COVID, should get the vaccine, especially.
How widespread is COVID in Michigan?
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported 371 COVID-19 cases during the week of June 21, 2025, including one death.
The recent data represents a downward trend as COVID-19 cases and deaths have decreased statewide into early summer, the state dashboard shows.
What is NB.1.8.1?
NB.1.8.1 is one of the latest variants of COVID-19, a “slightly upgraded version” of the LP.8.1 variant that is prominent right now, Subhash Verma, microbiology and immunology professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, previously told USA TODAY in May.
Verma previously said NB.1.8.1 may be able to be transferred more easily than LP.8.1. Additionally, he said that NB.1.8.1 is able to evade antibodies created by vaccines or past infections more easily than LP.8.1.
“NB.1.8.1 is likely to spread more rapidly and evade our immune defenses more easily than LP.8.1, which is why this variant requires careful monitoring,” Verma said.
What are the symptoms of NB.1.8.1?
The CDC has not outlined symptoms that are specific to the NB.1.8.1. variant. Verma said that NB.1.8.1 symptoms appear similar to those of earlier COVID-19 variants.
The CDC outlines the following as common COVID-19 symptoms:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Sore throat
- Congestion or a runny nose
- New loss of taste or smell
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- Nausea or vomiting
When should you see a doctor?
The CDC advises seeking medical care if you experience any of the following symptoms:
- Trouble breathing
- Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
- New confusion
- Inability to wake or stay awake
- Depending on skin tone, lips, nail beds and skin may appear pale, gray or blue
What is a COVID-19 booster shot?
Updated and annual COVID-19 vaccines are actually not “booster shots.” Boosters are additional doses of the same vaccine that are needed to maintain immunity, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Updated vaccines protect against new variants of a virus, like NB.1.8.1.
How has federal vaccine guidance changed?
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently recommended changes to COVID vaccinations.
On May 27, Kennedy said the COVID-19 vaccine would no longer be included in the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and pregnant women. And on May 20, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it plans to require new clinical trials for approval of the annual COVID-19 boosters for healthy individuals under the age of 65.
This could mean that some who still wish to receive the vaccine may have to pay out of pocket.
USA TODAY contributed.
Contact Jenna Prestininzi: [email protected].
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