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A Covid-19 testing kit. Credit: AP Photo\/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi<\/p>\nWill you chip in to support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation today?<\/p>\n
A Covid-19 testing kit. Credit: AP Photo\/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi<\/p>\n
If it feels like several people you know are complaining of\u00a0feeling sick with what they assume is an \u201cawful summer cold\u201d \u2014 perhaps with a painful sore throat \u2014\u00a0<\/a>there\u2019s a good chance it could be COVID-19.<\/p>\n Again.<\/p>\n COVID-19 levels in Bay Area wastewater have now exceeded the winter peak, according to Stanford\u2019s WastewaterSCAN team, which monitors coronavirus presence in human sewage. This also means Bay Area COVID-19 levels are rising faster than the statewide average. While coronavirus presence has increased 55% in California over the past three weeks, according to\u00a0the California Department of Public Health\u2019s wastewater tracking<\/a>, those statewide numbers haven\u2019t surpassed winter highs \u2014 as like they have in the Bay Area.<\/p>\n This rise is fueled in part by a new subvariant called NB.1.8.1, dubbed \u201cNimbus.\u201d People who\u2019ve been infected with this strain have also reported suffering a particularly nasty sore throat among their symptoms, earning this latest strain the unpleasant nickname \u201crazor blade throat.\u201d<\/p>\n So, what do you need to know about the symptoms of NB.1.8.1? What\u2019s the COVID-19 incubation period in 2025, how long should you isolate and where can you still find a free COVID-19 test? And if you\u2019re unfortunate enough to suffer \u201crazor blade throat,\u201d what can you do to ease your symptoms?<\/p>\n Keep reading for everything you need to know about the new Nimbus variant.<\/p>\n What is NB.1.8.1, and is it worse than previous variants?<\/p>\n Right now, Nimbus is the most prevalent COVID-19 subvariant in the United States, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u00a0estimates currently makes up 43% of cases nationwide<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nimbus is absolutely more transmissible \u2014 that is, more contagious and more easily caught \u2014 than previous variants, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at UCSF. That\u2019s how a new variant ends up beating its siblings and \u201crising to the top of the charts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n There\u2019s \u201cno evidence that it causes more serious disease,\u201d Chin-Hong said, echoing\u00a0the World Health Organization\u2019s May briefing designating Nimbus a \u201cvariant under monitoring.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n But despite this, NB.1.8.1\u00a0will\u00a0still cause more people to go to the hospital with COVID-19, he said, \u201cbecause if it\u2019s fueling more people getting it, some of those people are going to be more vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n What are the symptoms of the new Nimbus COVID-19 variant?<\/p>\n Chin-Hong confirmed that no surprising wild card symptoms have yet been reported for NB.1.8.1 \u2014 they\u2019re the same COVID-19 symptoms you\u2019re used to hearing about from previous variants.<\/p>\n That said, the one symptom that doctors are hearing about from patients is the very painful throat that\u2019s\u00a0earned the unfortunate nickname \u201crazor blade throat.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0Or\u00a0as Reddit commenters have described it<\/a>, \u201clike being burned by acid whenever I ate or drank something\u201d and \u201clike my throat was coated in broken glass.\u201d<\/p>\n Why is Nimbus, a descendant of the omicron variant that first emerged in 2021, causing such sore throats? \u201cI think omicron in general prioritizes the upper respiratory tract instead of the getting into the lungs as much,\u201d Chin-Hong said.<\/p>\n One 2022 study from the United Kingdom<\/a>\u00a0found that a higher proportion of patients \u2014 up to 70% of those studied \u2014 reported sore throats when infected with the omicron variant compared with earlier variants.<\/p>\n As with previous variants to reach the Bay Area, Chin-Hong noted that more people also now appear to experience non-respiratory symptoms like diarrhea, nausea and vomiting when they get COVID-19 \u2014 gastrointestinal symptoms that folks can often initially dismiss as being unrelated to the virus.<\/p>\n According to the CDC,\u00a0this is the full list of the possible symptoms of COVID-19<\/a>:<\/p>\n Fever or chills<\/p>\n Cough<\/p>\n Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing<\/p>\n Fatigue<\/p>\n Muscle or body aches<\/p>\n Headache<\/p>\n New loss of taste or smell<\/p>\n Sore throat<\/p>\n Congestion or runny nose<\/p>\n Nausea or vomiting<\/p>\n Diarrhea.<\/p>\n Remember, you might have a combination of these symptoms or just one. They might be mild or feel more severe. But if you\u2019re experiencing any of these, take a COVID-19 test (more on this below).<\/p>\n For this kind of severe sore throat, it might be tempting to focus on topical medicine for your throat itself. But in general, systemic therapies \u2014 treatments which enter through your bloodstream, like Advil, and affect your whole body \u2014 \u201care better than topical ones,\u201d Chin-Hong said. His recommendations:<\/p>\n Ibuprofen and acetaminophen<\/p>\n Ibuprofen (like Advil) is better than acetaminophen (like Tylenol) in this case, he said, although you should check with your health provider if you have other medical conditions which might make taking ibuprofen unsafe. If your throat hurts too much to swallow a pill, you can consider liquid versions of these drugs, but make sure you use the right dose depending on age, Chin-Hong said. And if you\u2019re using a combination cold remedy like Nyquil, be aware it might already contain ibuprofen or acetaminophen \u2014 and be careful not to accidentally double-dose.<\/p>\n Topic remedies<\/p>\n You could try warm remedies like chicken soup, broth, lemon tea, honey or cold ones like popsicles, ice cream or ice chips. The upside of these treatments is the immediate relief they can bring, but they might also not last as long. You could also try gargling salt water, \u201cwhich may loosen mucus\u201d Chin-Hong said, or sucking lozenges with menthol or a mild anesthetic like benzocaine.<\/p>\n Environmental treatments to try\u00a0<\/p>\n Chin-Hong also recommends:<\/p>\n Stay hydrated<\/p>\n Get your rest<\/p>\n Don\u2019t smoke or expose yourself to smoke<\/p>\n Consider a humidifier, as dryness may make your symptoms worse.<\/p>\n And you should consider seeking medical attention if your symptoms last longer than a week, if your sore throat is very severe, and if you begin drooling or become unable to eat or drink, Chin-Hong said.<\/p>\n Actual \u201cCOVID cases\u201d \u2014 that is positive test results \u2014 are no longer tracked as closely by local and state public health bodies. In the absence of widespread up-to-date data on positive test results, monitoring the presence of the coronavirus in human sewage has become an increasingly important way to gauge the levels of COVID-19 spread in a particular area. This is because if you have COVID-19,\u00a0the virus will show up in your feces\u00a0<\/a>soon after you\u2019re infected.<\/p>\n Despite recent increases in COVID-19 levels in the Bay Area\u2019s wastewater, \u201caverage concentrations are still lower than this time last year\u201d when\u00a0the Bay Area experienced a summer surge,\u00a0<\/a>said Amanda Bidwell from Stanford\u2019s WastewaterSCAN team. However, the Bay Area\u2019s wastewater sites monitored by Stanford are currently in the \u201chigh\u201d category, she told KQED on Monday, with a \u201cstatistically significant upward trend\u201d in the last three weeks.<\/p>\n You can check the COVID-19 levels in your Alameda County\u2019s wastewater<\/a> according to WastewaterSCAN\u2019s monitoring.<\/p>\n Is the latest COVID-19 vaccine still effective against the new variant?<\/p>\n Yes:\u00a0The COVID-19 vaccine that rolled out in August 2024\u00a0<\/a>is effective against the NB.1.8.1 variant, Chin-Hong said. \u201cIt\u2019s a descendant of JN.1, which all the last year\u2019s vaccines were based on, which we still have around.\u201d<\/p>\n If you didn\u2019t\u00a0get your COVID-19 shot in the fall, Chin-Hong has a message<\/a>: Go get one now, particularly if you plan to travel abroad this summer. Not only will your protection last roughly a year, he said, \u201cgetting it now if it\u2019s being paid for would help that person navigate through what we might see in the summer, but also later on in the year if rules change\u201d \u2014 referring to the widespread uncertainty about\u00a0how President Donald Trump\u2019s administration might further change the U.S.\u2019s vaccine policies<\/a>.<\/p>\n Currently, the CDC recommends the COVID-19 vaccine for most adults 18 and older<\/a>, which means that most health insurance companies should cover the costs for people with insurance.<\/p>\n Step 1: Know about updated incubation times for NB.1.8.1<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve heard that incubation times for the virus are getting shorter \u2014 that is, the amount of time between getting exposed to COVID-19 and testing positive \u2014 it\u2019s true. People are testing positive more quickly than they were in 2020, when the average incubation period was five to seven days, because it has changed with each new variant, Chin-Hong said.<\/p>\n Three days is a common period of time between exposure and getting sick, Chin-Hong said, and given this trend, it makes sense to take a COVID-19 test as early as two days after exposure if you\u2019re already having symptoms.<\/p>\n If your first test is negative, you should absolutely test again the next day if symptoms persist \u2014 and again after that if you\u2019re still negative.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s why you can\u2019t necessarily trust a negative at-home COVID-19 test in 2025: While incubation times have gotten shorter, doctors are seeing people take longer to get a positive test, Chin-Hong said, and that\u2019s probably more to do with how much quicker someone with COVID-19 might develop\u00a0symptoms\u00a0in 2025 than they would have done in 2020.<\/p>\n As a reminder, those symptoms are the sign that your body\u2019s immune system is mounting a response to an invading virus. Back at the start of the pandemic, by the time you developed COVID-19 symptoms and took a test, it would probably already be positive.<\/p>\n But at this stage of the pandemic, \u201cwe likely have more immune cells circulating that can recognize the enemy, so it \u2018sounds the alarm\u2019 quicker [and] people might feel something faster than in the old days,\u201d Chin-Hong said.<\/p>\n Dr. Abraar Karan, an infectious disease physician and researcher at Stanford University, also put it this way for NPR in 2024: \u201cWith our immune systems primed,\u00a0the body\u2019s response 1752874932 comes much more quickly than it would have back in 2020<\/a>\u00a0when SARS-CoV-2 was a novel pathogen.\u201d<\/p>\n And because many of us take a COVID-19 test when we\u00a0start\u00a0to feel sick, we might actually be testing way too early for an at-home antigen kit to successfully detect enough virus inside us.<\/p>\n The bottom line: If you\u2019re testing because you\u2019ve started feeling unwell, don\u2019t assume a negative result means you don\u2019t actually have COVID-19. Play it safe, stay home as much as you can and wear a well-fitted mask if you can\u2019t. Take another antigen test 48 hours later, Chin-Hong said. You can also seek out a PCR test, which is more sensitive.<\/p>\n Step 3: Make sure your COVID-19 test hasn\u2019t expired<\/p>\n Those COVID-19 tests you might have in a drawer may be approaching their expiration date if they haven\u2019t already passed it. And an expired test could give you an unreliable result.<\/p>\n You can check the FDA\u2019s list of antigen test types\u00a0<\/a>to see\u00a0whether the box you\u2019re holding has had its shelf life extended<\/a>\u00a0by the manufacturer. The FDA said that if a test\u2019s shelf life has been extended, it\u2019s because the manufacturer has given the agency enough \u201cdata showing that the shelf-life is longer than was known when the test was first authorized.\u201d (In other words, it\u2019s still OK to use that test.)<\/p>\n Another tip from Chin-Hong: \u201cA quick and dirty way\u201d to know if you\u2019re using a functional COVID-19 test is to make sure the control line turns positive. If that doesn\u2019t happen, \u201cthat means the test is probably not working,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n In March 2024, the CDC officially revised their national COVID-19 isolation guidance, saying that\u00a0COVID-positive people could now return to work or regular activities<\/a>\u00a0once \u201csymptoms are improving overall\u201d and\u00a0they\u2019ve been fever-free for at least 24 hours<\/a>\u00a0without use of a fever-reducing medication.<\/p>\n Read more about current isolation guidance for COVID-19.<\/a><\/p>\n If you\u2019ve been infected, consider asking your health provider for the COVID-19 medication\u00a0Paxlovid, an antiviral treatment in pill form that is still available free by prescription in California.\u00a0<\/a>Read more on\u00a0requesting a prescription for Paxlovid, with or without health insurance.<\/a><\/p>\n Good question.<\/p>\n Finding a quick, free COVID-19 test \u2014 whether an at-home antigen test or a PCR test \u2014 has gotten progressively harder at this stage of the pandemic as more sites and services have been shuttered.<\/p>\n And visiting\u00a0the White House site that once offered you\u00a0free at-home COVID-tests<\/a>\u00a0through USPS will now greet you with an image of Trump superimposed over the headline \u201cLAB LEAK: The True Origins of COVID-19,\u201d as well as\u00a0a page dedicated to the theory disputed by many scientists<\/a>\u00a0that the pandemic was caused by the coronavirus leaking from a government laboratory in Wuhan, China.<\/p>\n So, what do you do now if you don\u2019t already have a supply of antigen tests for COVID-19 at home right now? Try the following:<\/p>\n Purchase a COVID-19 at-home antigen test at a pharmacy near you<\/p>\n The quickest option will also be one of the most expensive up-front: Purchasing an at-home antigen test at a nearby pharmacy. (Ideally, ask someone to purchase one for you so you don\u2019t potentially expose other people at the pharmacy, and if you really have to go yourself, wear a well-fitted N95 mask to help lower the risk you pose to others.) These at-home test kits are usually around $20 for a pack of two.<\/p>\n If you have health insurance, you can\u00a0request reimbursement from your health insurer for the cost of up to eight at-home tests per month<\/a>, so don\u2019t throw away your receipts.<\/p>\n Find a COVID-19 PCR testing site near you<\/p>\n PCR testing is more accurate than an antigen test. It\u2019s more sensitive at picking up traces of the coronavirus in your body, but it may take longer to get your results than with an at-home test.<\/p>\n Currently, there are still some sites offering free COVID-19 testing around the state. Try visiting\u00a0MyTurn.ca.gov\/testing<\/a>\u00a0and applying the \u201cFree Sites\u201d filter from the drop-down menu. You can also find\u00a0a health center near you\u00a0<\/a>and ask if they offer COVID-19 testing.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-17.png\")
Concentrations of COVID-19 in Bay Area wastewater, as of July 15.\u00a0Courtesy: WastewaterSCAN<\/p>\n