The world has been dealing with COVID since the pandemic set in back in 2020, and while we know more about the disease, it still hasn’t gone away.

This year is no different, with new COVID variants arriving on the scene, and those variants have been taking their toll on Massachusetts residents.

Meanwhile, health officials are still advocating for staying up on vaccinations, as they say that is one of the best ways to fight the virus.

Here’s what to know about the new COVID variants.

What are the new COVID variants?

The new variants are called the FLiRT strains of the virus. There are three variants of FLiRT.

They “accounted for the majority of COVID cases in the U.S. at the beginning of July. One of them, KP.3, was responsible for 36.9% of COVID infections in the United States, KP.2 made up 24.4%, and KP.1.1 accounted for 9.2% of cases,” according to a Yale Medicine study.

There is also another new strain – not FLiRT – called “LB.1,” strain, which is similar to the FLiRT variants.

“But with an additional mutation, (LB.1) has attracted attention as well,” Yale Medicine stated. “As summer began, it was responsible for 14.9% of COVID cases.”

More: COVID-19 emergency room visits, deaths are up. Should you be worried?

Are the new FLiRT variants worse than other strains?

According to Yale Medicine, “There is no conclusive information yet about whether a COVID illness will be more severe with the new variants or how symptoms might change.”

More: COVID-19 variant KP.3 remains dominant in US, rises to 36.9% of cases: See latest CDC data

What’s the COVID situation in Massachusetts now?

The latest data from the Massachusetts Department of Health covers from June 23 to June 29. During that time, there were 1,151 confirmed cases of COVID in the state, with 99,565 for the entire spring and summer.

In that same time period, the state reported six confirmed deaths, with 985 confirmed COVID deaths for the season.

What are the best remedies for COVID?

Doctors say vaccination is still a key for defense against COVID. Other ways to defend against the disease include:

What are symptoms of the new variant?

According to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, symptoms of the new variants include:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Headache
• Muscle aches
• Difficulty breathing
• Fatigue

Massachusetts-based Yankee Candle Company, Inc. is snuffing out dozens of jobs in the Bay State. As we reported in January 2023, Newell Brands, Yankee Candle’s parent company, announced it was restructuring. As part of that restructuring, Newall is eliminating nearly 100 positions.

A state filing says Yankee Candle is closing its South Deerfield, Massachusetts distribution center and offices on September 9, 2024. Boston.com reported the company’s facility at 27 Yankee Candle Way “will remain open, but will now serve as an auxiliary warehouse for Yankee Candle and other Newall Brand products.”

Newall Brands also owns Graco, Rubbermaid and Sharpie.

MassLive reported Newall Brands has filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notification with the Commonwealth announcing the layoffs.

A statement issued by Newall Brands said, “There are no changes to our other Yankee Candle operations in Western Massachusetts.”

The statement continued, “Yankee was founded in the area, and we are committed to maintaining a strong local presence with our flagship Yankee Candle Village store and various research, manufacturing, distribution, and office facilities.”

As reported last year, Newall Brands announced plans to lay off 13 percent of its global workforce as part of its restructuring.

Yankee Candle was founded over 50 years ago in South Deerfield, Massachusetts. The main factory and candle retail store opened in 1983. Newall Brands acquired Yankee Candle in 2016.

The company opened a new research and development lab near its corporate offices in South Deerfield in 2019.

Yankee Candle plans its annual Halloween product launch in August.

MASSACHUSETTS — The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for almost all of Massachusetts, warning of the possibility Tuesday evening of tornadoes, hail and high winds.

A line of storms will swing rapidly across New England from the northeast, according to the weather service. The severe thunderstorm watch will be in effect until 1 a.m. Wednesday.

“Primary threats include scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible. Isolated large hail events to 1 inch in diameter possible. A tornado or two possible,” the NWS Storm Prediction Center said in a Tuesday afternoon forecast.

A severe thunderstorm watch means that residents should be on alert for potential severe weather. But patches of nasty weather were already popping up Tuesday evening.

The weather service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for areas around Greenfield, warning of 60 mph winds and hail.

Severe weather may also be a possibility on Wednesday evening. The entire state east of Worcester has a level 1 “marginal” risk of severe weather tomorrow evening.