By Jamie Ducharme April 29, 2024 1:41 PM EDT T he COVID-19 lull in the U.S. may soon come to an end, as a new family of SARS-CoV-2 variants—nicknamed “FLiRT” variants—begins to spread nationwide. These variants are distant Omicron relatives that spun out from JN.1, the variant behind the surge in cases this past winter . They’ve been dubbed “FLiRT” variants based on the technical names for their mutations, one of which includes the letters “F” and “L,” and another of which includes the letters “