But doctors also say there is much more to learn about the variant BA.2.86
Published 09/13/23 05:05 PM Diane Herbst
The highly mutated new COVID-19 variant BA.2.86 has not yet caused profound illness and death, leading one California infectious disease expert to describe it as a “paper tiger.”
University of California, San Francisco’s Dr. Peter Chin-Hong said during a COVID roundtable discussion that while this new variant, also known as Pirola, has more than 30 mutations on its spike protein — equivalent to the evolutionary leap between the Delta to Omicron variants — there are relatively few cases worldwide. And four recent international studies discovered that existing antibodies can neutralize it, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.
“People are calling it a paper tiger now because it looks really scary, but it’s just made of paper,” Dr. Chin-Hong said, according to the Chronicle.
However, Dr. Chin-Hong emphasized that there is still much to learn about this variant, the outlet reported.
Meanwhile, doctors are often divided these days, with the highly mutated variant catching the attention of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), prompting the release of a risk assessment summary.
Dr. Chin-Hong’s colleague, Dr. Bob Wachter, UCSF’s chief of medicine, labeled the BA.2.86 variant “the scariant of the moment,” because when observing its spike protein, “it looks like it’s mutated up the ying-yang,” according to the Chronicle.
While Covid hospitalizations are up for the 8th straight week, and the BA.2.86 is considered a “highly mutated” variant with the potential to “escape immunity,” experts have said it is not responsible for recent rising case counts.
Another variant, EG.5, also known as Eris, is estimated to account for 21.5% of cases, while FL.1.5.1, or Fornax, is responsible for 14.5%.
Dr. Chin-Hong attributed increasing COVID case numbers to factors like waning immunity, more travel and get togethers, and an increase in people gathering indoors to escape the summer’s extreme heat, the Chronicle reported.
The experts gathered at the roundtable also noted that the increase in hospital admissions has not been not associated with a large increase in deaths, as it was in the past, according to the outlet.
This lower death rate from COVID is associated with the prevalent Omicron strains, while earlier variants such as Delta and Alpha are associated with more fatalities, the Chronicle reported.
The panel agreed that the coronavirus will most likely become less deadly over time – that while it is still spreading, it isn’t resulting in as many severe infections and fatalities as it had in the past.