The holiday season brings familiar respiratory illness challenges, with COVID-19 variants XEC and KP.3.1.1 at the forefront. “We’ve continued to see COVID evolving, and that’s to be expected,” states Mary Rodgers, associate research fellow at Abbott, in an interview with NBC Chicago. “As people’s immune responses develop to one strain, the virus is motivated to change so it can escape from those immune responses.” Current COVID-19 symptoms mirror previous variants: fever, chills, sore throat, body aches, loss of taste or smell, cough, runny nose, headache, and gastrointestinal issues. Dr. Chantel Tinfang, family medicine physician at Provident Hospital of Cook County, … Continue reading New COVID Variants XEC, KP.3.1.1 Surge This Holiday Season; CDC Updates Guidelines for Symptoms & Free Testing