Nationwide, outbreak.info estimates that BA.2.86’s cumulative prevalence — which represents a ratio of sequences containing BA.2.86 to all sequences collected in the U.S. since the subvariant was first detected on July 29 — is less than 0.5 percent.
The subvariant made headlines in August because of its large number of mutations, however emerging research suggests the strain may not be as transmissible or immune-evasive as experts initially thought.
Below is a breakdown of BA.2.86 prevalence by state, based on data from outbreak.info. As COVID-19 sequencing is not a random sample of mutations, the data represents outbreak.info’s best estimates of the subvariant’s prevalence, as opposed to true prevalence.
Note: Becker’s calculated each state’s estimated cumulative BA.2 presence using sequencing data from outbreak.info. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundredth.
|
State |
BA.2.86 positive samples |
Total sequences sampled |
Estimated cumulative prevalence (%) |
|
Pennsylvania |
1 |
166 |
.60 |
|
Michigan |
1 |
230 |
.43 |
|
Ohio |
1 |
297 |
.34 |
|
Washington |
1 |
532 |
.19 |
|
Virginia |
1 |
541 |
.18 |
|
Colorado |
1 |
750 |
.13 |
|
Texas |
1 |
2,815 |
.04 |
