COVID-19 rates in the Southwestern United States reached 12.5% — the highest in the nation. It comes as California students ...

The XFG strain, nicknamed “Stratus,” is the predominant variant currently circulating. It has been on the rise since May in ...

CDC wastewater also shows the XFG variant — nicknamed stratus — is most common in the U.S. Stratus can cause a “razor blade” sore throat and is considered a “variant under monitoring” by the World ...