While the COVID-19 variant EG.5 accounts for more than 20 percent of cases across the U.S., according to CDC data, the emergence of a new subvariant, BA.2.86 is drawing close attention from health experts.
BA.2.86 shows signs of being highly mutated compared to other strains, but has not yet proven to cause more severe infections, according to an Aug. 23 report from the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.
The new variant has 34 mutations on its spike protein, and while it is too early to tell whether it will cause increased hospitalizations, experts say that the fall COVID-19 booster may not properly target it and could lead to the development of a different, targeted booster later on.
According to an Aug. 29 article from The Atlantic, experts are saying some of the properties of BA.2.86 rival that of Omicron's, which was more mutated and infectious than previous COVID-19 strains.
Here are three ways the new variant could affect public health, according to experts:
- The worst and least likely scenario is that BA.2.86 does spread similarly to how the Omicron variant did, causing a surge, The Atlantic reported.
- A more likely scenario is for the variant to spread enough to overtake more common strains, becoming the dominant one.
- In another scenario, The Atlantic reported, BA.2.86 could also dissipate.
Ultimately, as hospitalizations continue to climb nationwide, further research about the new subvariant and its mutations will need to be done to determine if it is a partial cause, but for now, experts are hesitant to make firm assessments on the strain since sequencing is limited.
In the meantime several hospitals and health systems have also decided to bring back masking policies to curb the spread.