Covid-19 case counts are rising across the US, and public health authorities are monitoring a worrisome new variant. Some experts are urging Americans to wear a mask when necessary to slow the spread of the virus.
Doctors warned that the BA.2.86 variant – unofficially called “Pirola” – may be cause for concern as it is a newly-designated, highly-mutated variant of Omicron which triggered a surge in cases in a number of countries including the US.
According to a Thursday bulletin in Yale Medicine, the new variant has more than 30 mutations to its spike protein - located on the outer surface of a coronavirus - which helps it enter and infect human cells.
“Such a high number of mutations is notable,” infectious disease specialist Dr Scott Roberts said. “When we went from [Omicron variant] XBB.1.5 to [Eris] EG.5, that was maybe one or two mutations.
“But these massive shifts, which we also saw from Delta to Omicron, are worrisome.”
CDC Covid tracker
15,067 hospitalisations from 13 August to 19 August
