As of early 2026, several COVID-19 variants are circulating in the United States simultaneously, all descendants of the Omicron lineage. According to CDC wastewater surveillance data updated in late February 2026, JN.1 and its sublineages make up the largest share of detected virus, followed by XBB.1.16 and KP.3 descendants. There is no single dominant strain the way earlier pandemic waves worked. Instead, a mix of closely related variants is co-circulating.
Variants Circulating Right Now
CDC wastewater data for the week ending February 21, 2026, breaks down national virus proportions like this:
- JN.1: 34% of detected virus
- XBB.1.16: 22%
- JN.1.16: 22%
- KP.3: 20%
- KP.2: 8%
- XBB.2.3: 5%
All of these are Omicron subvariants. JN.1 and its offspring (including JN.1.16, KP.2, and KP.3) share a common ancestor, so the illness they cause is broadly similar. The differences between them are mostly relevant to immune evasion, meaning each new subvariant is slightly better at reinfecting people who’ve had COVID before or been vaccinated.
Variants the WHO Is Watching
The World Health Organization maintains a separate list of “variants under monitoring” that could become more prominent. As of late February 2026, that list includes KP.3.1.1, NB.1.8.1, XFG, and BA.3.2. None of these are currently classified as variants of concern, but they carry mutations that could give them a growth advantage over existing strains.
KP.3.1.1 was dominant in the U.S. through late 2024, representing over half of circulating virus at its peak. It has since been overtaken by other sublineages. XFG and NB.1.8.1 were first flagged in early 2025 and are being tracked for signs of increased spread or immune escape. BA.3.2 is notable because it sits on a different branch of the Omicron family tree, carrying a distinct set of spike protein mutations that could behave differently from the JN.1 lineage.
What Symptoms to Expect
The symptom profile for current variants looks a lot like what most people experienced with earlier Omicron strains. The CDC lists these possible symptoms: fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea. Loss of taste or smell can still occur but is less common than it was with pre-Omicron strains.
For most vaccinated or previously infected people, current variants tend to cause an illness that resembles a moderate cold or flu, lasting roughly five to ten days. Sore throat and congestion are the most frequently reported symptoms. Severe illness still happens, particularly in older adults and people with weakened immune systems, but hospitalization rates remain far lower than during the Delta or original Omicron waves.
How Well Vaccines Work Against These Strains
The 2024-2025 updated COVID vaccine was designed to target the JN.1 lineage, which means it’s a reasonable match for many of the variants currently circulating. A large study of U.S. veterans published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the updated vaccine reduced the risk of COVID-related emergency department visits by about 29%, hospitalizations by 39%, and deaths by 64% over six months of follow-up.
Those numbers are lower than what earlier vaccines achieved against their target strains, which reflects the reality of a virus that keeps evolving. But the protection against severe outcomes and death remains meaningful, especially for people over 65 or those with chronic health conditions. The vaccine is more effective at preventing you from ending up in the hospital than at preventing infection altogether.
Do Home Tests Still Work?
Rapid antigen tests remain a useful tool for detecting current variants, though timing matters. Research comparing test performance across Omicron subvariants found that most commercially available rapid tests detect the virus with similar accuracy across variants when there’s enough viral protein present. The catch is that Omicron-lineage infections tend to produce less detectable antigen relative to the amount of virus, which can lead to false negatives early in the illness.
If you have symptoms and test negative, testing again 24 to 48 hours later improves your chances of getting an accurate result. Viral levels in the nose typically peak a day or two after symptoms begin, which is when rapid tests are most reliable.
Treatment Still Works
The main antiviral treatment for COVID continues to be effective against circulating variants. Studies have shown it reduces the risk of hospitalization significantly when started within three to five days of symptom onset, with an average treatment start around three days after symptoms appear. The drug works by blocking the virus’s ability to copy itself, a mechanism that isn’t affected by the specific spike protein mutations that distinguish one variant from another.
Treatment is most beneficial for people at higher risk of severe disease: older adults, immunocompromised individuals, and those with conditions like diabetes, heart disease, or obesity. For younger, healthy people, the illness typically resolves on its own.
What to Do If You Get Sick
Current CDC guidance recommends staying home and away from others, including household members, while you have respiratory symptoms. This applies whether or not you’ve tested positive, since the same precautions help limit spread of flu and other respiratory viruses too. You can return to normal activities once your symptoms have been improving for at least 24 hours and you’ve been fever-free without medication for the same period.
Wearing a mask around others for an additional five days after you start feeling better adds another layer of protection, since people can still shed virus after their symptoms improve. This is especially worth doing if you live with someone who’s elderly or immunocompromised.