COVID ‘Razor Throat' Variant Now Found in 15 US States: Here's What We Know
The COVID-19 variant that has driven a rise in cases in mainland China is now detected in more than a dozen U.S. states, according to data released by a private tracking firm.
Earlier in the week, Chinese doctors
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Refinery29
5 hours ago
- Refinery29
There's A Bigger Problem With The Viral ‘Propaganda I'm Not Falling For' Trend
TW: This article discusses disordered eating. Videos with the text 'Propaganda I'm not falling for' and a list that might include diet culture, something about the rise of conservatism and alternative milk choices — to name a few — have been dominating our social feeds of late. The videos seem to suggest that if you can spot a "trend" or the 'problem', then you can choose whether to participate in it or not. But in a world where we seem to be at the behest of the algorithm, and with social media increasingly becoming an avenue for mental health support, how much agency do we have in choosing whether or not we participate? Let's start with the algorithm, which, despite what we're sometimes led to believe, is not inherently evil. It can actually be great, showing us content and advertisements that we find engaging based on specific signals, such as what posts we like, comment on, and share, how much time we spend viewing a post, and what similarities we have with users we interact with. However, when social media platforms use them to further their cause, algorithms can lead us to content we didn't necessarily choose. For example, in 2018, Facebook saw a decline in engagement and reconfigured its recommendation algorithms. A 2021 study says that the reconfiguration increased the virality of outrageous and sensationalised content. And no, this was not just a coincidence, Facebook's internal documents stated that "Misinformation, toxicity, and violent content are inordinately prevalent among reshares.' Similarly, a 2020 study found YouTube recommendations can lead people to more extremist content. The bigger issue is that even if a user decides to step away from polarising content, a New York Times article reported that viewing 20 widely-shared TikToks sowing doubt about election systems will push more 'election disinformation, polarising content, far-right extremism, QAnon conspiracy theories and false Covid-19 narratives' despite using neutral search terms. In this case, while we click or scroll away, it becomes clear that the algorithm can encroach on our autonomy. Besides misinformation and polarising content, we can't talk about social media algorithms without discussing thinness culture or 'thinspo.' What once existed on Tumblr sites, thinness culture, also known as 'pro-ana' type content, has now made its way to TikTok, claiming its niche as ' SkinnyTok.' This side of TikTok is filled with low-calorie recipe videos, What I Eat In A Days, exercise routines and more which glorify thinness culture and disordered eating, veiled as a "healthy" lifestyle. In June, TikTok "blocked search results for #skinnytok since it has become linked to unhealthy weight loss content." However, how much impact does this have when our algorithms deliver us this content regardless of needing to search for it? Users who are currently diagnosed with an eating disorder are 4137% more likely to have the next video delivered by the TikTok algorithm to be eating disorder-related. Similarly, for those struggling with disordered eating, it is 322% more likely that the next video will be diet-orientated. The recent Butterfly Body Kind Youth survey also found that 57.2% of young people (aged 12-18) report that social media makes them feel dissatisfied with their bodies. At the same time, 73% of young people use social media for mental health support. However, the number of young people using social media for support rather than the mental health care system is worrying when, in June 2025, an investigation by The Guardian found that over half of the top 100 mental health TikToks contain misinformation. From suggesting that everyday experiences are symptoms of borderline personality disorder to misusing therapeutic language, social media has increasingly seen users self-diagnosing based on a 10-second sound bite. As someone who could not access mental health support for a couple of years for an eating disorder, I've experienced the pipeline of content where helpful tips for recovering turn into glorifying low-calorie, high-protein diets and strength training in the name of "health". But as a 16-year-old, it was impossible not to fall for this, and even now, at 22, it can be a battle on worse days, and I have to delete the apps altogether. While we like to think we have full control over what we do or do not 'fall for', our algorithms clearly also have a say in that. But the long-term answer to extremist or thinspo content is not to delete or ban social media. We should all be cautious of what we see on the internet, perhaps take things with a pinch of salt, and do our research, of course — but social media platforms and governments have a role to play in safeguarding us from risks. We need more than just a hashtag ban; we need social media platforms to stop pushing content that leads us down this path in the first place. We need our government to regulate content such as deepfakes and misinformation and, instead of banning social media, implement education on how to use and be safe on it. Funding the mental health system so that fewer people turn to social media for help would also be a great place to start.
9 hours ago
What to know about COVID variant NB.1.8.1 causing 'razor blade throat'
A newer COVID-19 variant may be causing a severe sore throat in some people who contract the infection. The variant, known as NB.1.8.1, has been nicknamed by some as "razor blade throat" due to the painful symptom. Data from the open global genome sequencing database GISAID shows the new variant has been detected in several states, including New York, Illinois, Texas and California. Public health experts told ABC News there is no cause for serious concern yet because the virus does not appear to be more severe than previous variants and there are steps that can be taken to protect yourself. What is NB 1.8.1? NB.1.8.1 derives from the recombinant variant XVD.1.5.1, which is a descendant of the omicron variant. The first sample of NB.1.8.1 was collected on Jan. 22, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It was first detected in China and other parts of Asia before spreading to Europe. It was designated as a "variant under monitoring" by the WHO, meaning it may require prioritized attention and monitoring but is not as serious as a "variant of interest" or a "variant of concern." As of the week ending June 7, NB.1.8.1 is the second most dominant variant in the U.S., accounting for an estimated 37% of cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The virus appears to be more transmissible because there appear to be changes to the spike protein, which is what the virus uses to attach to and infect cells, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco. It also seems to attach more easily to ACE2 receptors, which are proteins found on the surface of cells and how the virus that causes COVID enters cells, he told ABC News. NB.1.8.1 doesn't yet appear to be causing increases in cases or in hospitalizations with rates remaining "stable" so far, according to Chin-Hong. The variant has also been called "Nimbus," which appears to have been coined on X by T. Ryan Gregory, a Canadian professor of evolutionary biology. "Nimbus is a catchy, quick name, and it also includes an 'N' and a 'B' from the lineage, which is NB.1.8.1. So it's easier for people to be able to say these monikers for COVID, rather than remember the actual lineage," said Dr. Alok Potel, a pediatrician at Stanford Children's Health and an ABC News contributor. "But I think it's important also because it keeps people paying attention to new COVID variants that can be different in terms of infectivity and in terms of spread," he added. What are the symptoms? Experts said they are not sure if the painful sore throat is just a symptom that people are talking about or a distinctive symptom of this variant. It's also unclear if the "razor blade throat" is more common in those who are more up to date on vaccination compared to those who are not up to date. "I think it's certainly amongst the spectrum of symptoms that you can get, and we know that sore throat is reported by about 70% of patients now with COVID, so it's not unusual, and like with everything in medicine, there's always a spectrum," Chin-Hong said. There is currently no evidence that NB.1.8.1. causes more severe disease or is more likely to cause hospitalization, according to Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, "But of course, there are people in high-risk groups that are still at risk of being hospitalized should they become infected," he told ABC News. There are no other symptoms outlined that are specific to NB.1.8.1 by the CDC. Symptoms listed by the health agency still include sore throat, cough, fever, chills, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, congestion, runny nose, loss of taste or smell, fatigue, muscle aches, body aches, headache, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. How to protect yourself The experts recommend that high-risk Americans receive a vaccine twice a year as recommended by the CDC. The CDC also currently recommends most adults aged 18 and older receive an updated 2024-2025 vaccine and that parents of children between ages 6 months to 17 years discuss the benefits of vaccination with a health care provider. COVID-19 also tends to spike in the late summer and early fall, so people should consider opening windows to increase ventilation, wearing a mask in certain situations and avoiding crowded areas, Schaffner said. "Time to stream a movie, as I like to say, rather than going to the movies," he added. Patel said it's important to practice good hygiene such as proper hand-washing and covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing. He also recommended that people test if they are symptomatic and said over-the-counter rapid at-home tests work. "Getting infected with COVID and other infectious diseases is not necessarily life or death, but it can still be very debilitating." Patel said. "It can cause people to miss work, to spread the virus, to get people who are higher risk sick and there's still an untold amount of people who have long COVID." He added, "So, we don't want to look at COVID as just another common cold, because there's still so much we're learning about it, and there's still so many possibilities with this virus continuing to mutate, if we let it."
Epoch Times
11 hours ago
- Epoch Times
COVID ‘Razor Throat' Variant Now Found in 15 US States: Here's What We Know
The COVID-19 variant that has driven a rise in cases in mainland China is now detected in more than a dozen U.S. states, according to data released by a private tracking firm. Earlier in the week, Chinese doctors
