Coronavirus Pandemic: The virus that causes COVID-19 has developed a new, severely altered lineage, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention are monitoring.
Since late July, six instances have been discovered in four different nations. The new lineage known as BA.2.86 is being closely watched by researchers since it differs from the dominant XBB.1.5 variety by 36 mutations.
There is currently no proof that BA.2.86 spreads more quickly or leads to more severe illness than earlier iterations. The CDC stated that its guidance on avoiding COVID-19 remains unchanged.
Rising cases of new COVID-19 variants
There has been an increase in COVID-19 infections and hospitalisations in the US, Europe, and Asia, with more instances in recent months being linked to the EG.5 “Eris” subvariant, a progenitor of the Omicron lineage that first appeared in November 2021.
Public health officials have reported one case of BA.2.86 over the past several days in each of the US, UK, and Israel, as well as three instances in Denmark.
Are scientists worried over BA.2.86?
Dr. S. Wesley Long, medical head of diagnostic microbiology at Houston Methodist Hospital, noted that BA.2.86 varies from the variety targeted by current vaccinations because it comes from a “earlier branch” of the coronavirus.
Whether BA.2.86 will be able to outcompete other COVID-19 virus strains or have any benefit in evading immune responses from prior infections or vaccinations, he claimed, is still up in the air.
However, several nations have severely scaled back their attempts to examine the virus genomes that are responsible for new COVID-19 infections and patient testing. Given the rate at which new cases are being discovered, the trajectory of BA.2.86 “doesn’t look good right now,” according to Dr. Eric Topol, a genetics researcher and the director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, California.
In comparison to prior variations, BA.2.86 is “radically different in its structure” due to its numerous changes, according to Topol.
The main uncertainty, he continued, is whether BA.2.86 would prove to be extremely contagious.
Are the new COVID-19 variants more dangerous?
According to data on the CDC website, COVID-19 emergency department visits and hospitalisations in the US are still at a low level but have been increasing since early July. However, so far, doctors have reported that patients treated during the Eris variant’s latest outbreak are not as sick as those they saw during prior pandemic waves.
According to Topol, a wider dissemination of BA.2.86 would probably result in increased disease and fatalities in vulnerable populations.
It is still too early to say whether BA.2.86 will result in more serious sickness.
Are vaccines effective against new COVID-19 variants?
It may have been a year or more since many people were either previously infected with COVID-19 or received the COVID-19 vaccination due to the coronavirus pandemic’s diminishing effects.
The Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 has been selected as the target for 19 booster shots that are now being produced.
Preliminary trial results, according to Moderna, indicate that its most recent vaccination shows promise against Eris and a closely similar form known as Fornax, which has started to spread in the US.
According to Pfizer Inc., a mouse research using its modified COVID-19 injection revealed neutralising action against the Eris subvariant.
