[1/3]Injecting coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine for residents age 50 and older who are immunocompromised and eligible for a second booster in Waterford, Michigan, USA, April 8, 2022 A nurse who packs in.Reuters/Emily Erkonin/File Photo Obtaining license rights
Sept. 7 (Reuters) – New data from scientists and vaccine makers Moderna (MRNA.O) and Pfizer (PFE.N)/BioNTech (22UAy.DE) show that COVID-19 ) is not as alarming as some experts feared when it was first discovered a few weeks ago.
The BA.2.86 omicron subspecies, nicknamed “pilora” on social media, is being tracked by both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
What’s new about COVID-19?
New coronavirus infections and hospitalizations are on the rise we, Europe and Asia, but well below previous peaks. The rate of increase in weekly U.S. hospitalizations slowed for the third straight week in August, according to CDC data for the week ending Aug. 26.
As of August 30, According to the CDC, BA.2.86 variants It has been detected in human bodies or wastewater in at least four US states. Delaware said on Tuesday: it was detecting BA.2.86 infection in hospital. The WHO reports that BA.2.86 has been found in at least six countries.
according to to CDC datathe EG.5 subvariant, a descendant of the Omicron strain nicknamed “Ellis” on social media that originally emerged in November 2021, accounts for about 5% of the current number of coronavirus cases in the United States. It accounts for 1 of
The variant known as “Fornax” (officially FL.1.5.1) is the next most prevalent at 14.5% of cases in the United States, indicating the East Coast’s increasing share of coronavirus cases. Various other variants make up a smaller portion of the total, with BA.2.86 currently less than 1%.
Dr. David Dowdy, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, believes FL.1.5.1 will become the predominant new coronavirus variant in the coming months, similar to what Omicron caused last time. We do not foresee a wave of infections. winter.
Dowdy suggested that the current surge in cases could be due to some of the immunity from vaccinations and infections waning since the previous surge.
What do scientists say about BA.2.86?
Scientists are focusing on BA.2.86 because it has more than 35 mutations in key parts of the virus compared to XBB.1.5, the dominant variant through most of 2023. ing.
This dramatic change is comparable to the genetic changes seen in the Omicron subspecies compared to previous generations of Delta, raising concerns that the new subspecies could cause a major surge.
Experiments testing versions of the virus at two independent laboratories in the United States suggest that is unlikely, says the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. said director Dr. Dan Baruch, whose institute led one of the studies.
His team tested the lab-grown virus on people who had been vaccinated or had previously been infected, and found that antibodies against the variant were comparable to antibodies against the currently circulating variant. found that it was slightly higher.
Similar results were obtained in experiments conducted by Dr. David Ho’s lab at Columbia University and teams in Sweden and China.
Can vaccines protect against new variants?
Barouch’s study also suggested that the newly updated vaccine could increase antibody responses “to some extent” against all variants currently in circulation, including BA.2.86.
Moderna announced Wednesday that clinical data showed its COVID-19 vaccine increased human antibodies capable of neutralizing BA.2.86 by nearly nine times.
Pfizer announced Wednesday that its latest coronavirus vaccine showed neutralizing activity against BA.2.86 and EG.5 in a study conducted in mice.
The latest shot is being reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is expected to be released this month.
Reporting: Deena Beasley and Julie Steenhuysen Editing: Bill Berkrot
Our criteria: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.