I saw a news item headline which mentioned Covid-19 Variant. BA.2.86. The CDC website tracking respiratory variants has a definitive update as of November 27, 2023:
“What to know about BA.2.86
- The virus that causes COVID-19 is constantly changing over time. Sometimes these changes allow new variants to spread more quickly or effectively. If that occurs, the new variant may become more common relative to other variants that are circulating.
- Since CDC’s first post on BA.2.86 in August 2023, the proportion of infections caused by BA.2.86 has slowly increased. In the CDC Nowcast posted Nov. 27, 2023, BA.2.86 is projected to account for 5-15% of currently circulating variants.
- CDC projects BA.2.86 and its offshoots like JN.1 will continue to increase as a proportion of SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences.
- At this time, BA.2.86 does not appear to be driving increases in infections or hospitalizations in the United States.
- CDC contributed to and agrees with the World Health Organization’s recent risk assessment about BA.2.86 suggesting that the public health risk posed by this variant is low compared with other circulating variants, based on available limited evidence.
- Updated COVID-19 vaccines are expected to increase protection against BA.2.86, as they do for other variants.
- As mentioned in previous updates, COVID-19 tests and treatments are expected to be effective against this variant, including its offshoot JN.1.
- It is not possible at this time to know whether BA.2.86 infection produces different symptoms from other variants. In general, symptoms of COVID-19 tend to be similar across variants. The types of symptoms and how severe they are usually depend more on a person’s immunity than which variant causes the infection.
- Regardless of what variants happen, CDC will continue to track them, working closely with partners around the world to understand how they are spreading and how they respond to vaccines and treatments.”
Go Retire Psychiatrist 