The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Wednesday that the recently detected BA.2.86 variant of Covid-19 may have a higher likelihood of infecting individuals who have already been vaccinated or previously infected, compared to older variants. However, it is too early to determine if this variant will cause more severe infections than other variants. Due to the significant number of mutations found in this lineage, there are concerns regarding its impact on immunity from vaccines and prior infections.
The CDC stated that nearly the entire U.S. population has antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 from vaccination, prior infection, or both, and believes that these antibodies will likely continue to provide some degree of protection against severe disease caused by this variant.
This announcement comes as two Americans have tested positive for the BA.2.86 variant, and cases of another new variant, EG.5 or Eris, are increasing.
However, the CDC has clarified that the current increase in U.S. hospitalizations is not likely driven by the BA.2.86 variant. The most recent Covid vaccines are specifically designed to target strains from the XBB Omicron variant, but the BA.2.86 variant has a higher number of mutations, drawing comparisons to the delta and Omicron variants. The CDC expressed concerns about the potential for this variant to evade existing immunity from vaccines and previous infections, possibly to a greater extent than other recent variants.
This concern, coupled with the rise in positive tests across the U.S., has led an Atlanta college and the Hollywood studio Lionsgate to reinstate face mask mandates. However, although Covid rates are increasing, hospital admissions remain at near-historic lows.
Test positivity in the U.S. has doubled in the past month, and searches for Covid symptoms on Google have spiked in recent weeks. Medical professionals on the front lines report seeing an increase in patients with the virus, but note that their symptoms are milder than in previous waves of the pandemic.
Dr. Aaron Glatt, a physician at Mount Sinai in New York City, believes that there are likely more cases of the BA.2.86 variant in the U.S. than confirmed, emphasizing that the variant’s survival advantage and ability to evade vaccines may contribute to its spread. Currently, Israel, Denmark, and the UK have detected this variant, but most countries lack the infrastructure to identify new variants.
While the BA.2.86 variant has not yet been detected in Japan, official data shows a rise in Covid cases and hospitalizations. However, the numbers are still lower than the same period last year.
Both the CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) are monitoring this mutant strain. Former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb expressed concerns about the variant’s transmissibility, stating that he is “pretty concerned” and suggesting that it may be more transmissible than other circulating variants.
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