Arrr! The scurvy landlubbers in UK have spotted 34 cases of the dreadful BA.2.86 COVID-19 variant, but no souls have been sent to Davy Jones' locker, ye hear!
2023-09-08
Avast ye! Word be spreadin' me hearties, the UK Health Security Agency be warnin' of 34 scurvy dogs struck down by the dreadful COVID-19, with a mutated varmint known as BA.2.86. Beware the foul winds blowin' in England!
The UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) has reported that 34 cases of a highly mutated variant called BA.2.86 have been identified in England. This offshoot of the Omicron variant has more than 35 mutations compared to the dominant variant of 2023, XBB.1.5. Despite its mutations, no deaths have been linked to this new variant, and only five patients have been hospitalized out of the confirmed cases as of September 4.Interestingly, 28 of the confirmed cases were found to be from a single outbreak at a care home in Norfolk. This suggests that the variant may be transmissible in close contact settings. BA.2.86 was first detected in Denmark on July 24 and has since been found in other countries, including Switzerland, South Africa, Israel, and the United States.
In response to this new variant, Moderna and Pfizer have announced that their updated COVID-19 vaccines have shown strong responses against BA.2.86 in testing. However, it is still too early to draw conclusions about the behavior of this variant in the wider UK population.
Renu Bindra, the incident director at UKHSA, has acknowledged that there is some degree of widespread community transmission of BA.2.86, both in the UK and globally. The agency is actively working to determine the full extent of its spread.
Overall, while the presence of this highly mutated variant is concerning, it is reassuring that it has not yet led to any deaths and that vaccines are showing promising efficacy against it. Efforts are underway to understand the variant better and prevent its further spread.