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By Pandora Dewan
Senior Science Reporter
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At least two cases of a new COVID-19 virus subvariant, BA.2.86, have been identified in the U.S., prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a risk-assessment summary on August 23 explaining what is known about it so far.
Cases of the new variant have been reported globally and scientists are concerned that built-up immunity and vaccinations may not protect against it.
All viruses change over time, including the virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2. These changes can affect how contagious the virus is, how severely it affects people, and how it responds to treatment.
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There have been numerous variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus so far, including the highly transmissible Omicron strain that made headlines in 2022. However, according to the CDC, the new BA.2.86 has even more additional mutations compared with previously detected Omicron variants.
The large number of mutations raises concerns that the new variant may be more effective at evading our existing immunity to the virus, either through vaccinations or previous infections. However, it is too soon to say how it will impact global immunity, as samples are not yet broadly available for lab-based antibody testing.
"Nearly all the U.S. population has antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 from vaccination, previous infection, or both, and it is likely that these antibodies will continue to provide some protection against severe disease from this variant," the CDC said. "This is an area of ongoing scientific investigation."
Only nine cases of the new strain have been confirmed so far: three in Denmark; two in South Africa; one in Israel; two in the U.S.; and one in the U.K. However, the variant has also been detected in U.S. waste-water samples.
With such a small number of confirmed cases, it is too soon to know how transmissible the new variant is, although its detection across multiple continents does indicate some degree of transmissibility.
The severity of disease caused by BA.2.86 is also unclear. "At this time, locations where this variant have been detected have not experienced increases in transmission indicators (e.g., cases, emergency department visits) or hospitalizations out of proportion to those seen in neighboring locations," the CDC said. "However, it is early in the emergence of this variant and too soon to evaluate impacts based on these indicators."
The good news is that, from what we know so far, the existing detection tests and medications used to treat COVID-19 appear to be effective against this new variant.
There are a lot of unknowns surrounding BA.2.86, but to stay safe, the CDC recommends the following actions:
- Stay home if you are sick.
- Get tested for COVID-19 if you feel flu-like symptoms.
- Improve ventilation.
- Wash your hands.
- Get vaccinations as recommended by your health provider.
The CDC has also said that updated vaccines may be available as early as mid-September.
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