- The mutant strain – called BA.2.86 – is responsible for one in ten new cases
- But it does not appear to lead to an increase in infections or hospitalizations
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A new Covid variant is spreading across the US, but experts have urged people not to panic.
BA.2.86 is a mutation on the Omicron BA.2 subvariant and is responsible for nearly one in 10 new Covid cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated Monday.
This is almost triple the share from two weeks ago. However, the number of Covid cases is not increasing and the variant appears to be replacing other variants rather than initiating a new wave.
It's the first time the variant, called Pirola, has risen enough to be listed on its own as part of the CDC's estimates.
It comes as a wave of childhood pneumonia is hitting Ohio and Massachusetts, similar to the outbreak spreading in China and parts of Europe.
CDC's estimates of Covid variants spreading across US This shows that BA.2.86 is responsible for an estimated nine percent of infections
Scientists first warned about BA.2.86 in August. It had more than 30 mutations in its spike proteins, making it genetically different from other versions of the virus that causes Covid, worrying scientists it could evade immunity from vaccines
BA.2.86 is most common in the Northeast, with 13 percent of cases in New York and New Jersey.
But the variant is still mild and no longer has fatal consequences. BA.2.86 does not appear to cause an increase in infections or hospitalizations, the CDC said in its report.
The agency said it agreed with the World Health Organization's (WHO) recent risk assessment of BA.2.86, which said the public health risk from this variant is low compared to other variants in circulation.
However, it has upgraded the classification of BA.2.86 to a 'variant of interest' instead of a 'variant under monitoring'.
XBB.1.5, XBB.1.6 and EG.5 have been classified as variants of interest by the WHO. There are currently no variants of concern, which is the highest categorization.
Scientists first warned about BA.2.86 in August. It had more than 30 mutations in its spike proteins, making it genetically different from other versions of the virus that causes Covid and causing scientists to worry it could evade immunity from vaccines.
But BA.2.86 never really got off the ground. Some studies suggested that even though it mutated, it lost some of its ability to infect cells, slowing growth.
Currently the dominant variant is HV.1 – a mutation on the EG.5 variant that sparked concern earlier this year – and causes around one in three new Covid cases.
Other studies found the Covid shot offered some protection against the variant.
In its most recent update, the CDC said it did not know if this was the case BA.2.86 infection caused different symptoms than other variants and said the symptoms are generally similar overall.
“The nature of symptoms and how severe they are usually depend more on a person's immunity than on the variant causing the infection,” the report said.
There were 18,119 hospital admissions due to Covid in the week ending November 18.
Covid-19 hospital admissions are currently showing a slight increase, with hospital admissions increasing by 10 per cent in the week ending November 18.
The number of deaths for the same week was estimated at 506.