Summer heat, outdoor fun ... and cold and flu symptoms? The three may not go together in many people's minds: partly owing to common myths about germs and partly because many viruses really do have lower activity levels in the summer.

Here’s what to know about this variant and how it’s affecting New York State. The “Stratus” variant (XFG) was first identified in January in Southeast Asia. By June, it accounted for 14% of COVID cases in the U.