The new variant has not yet been given a nickname by the World Health Organization (WHO). For now, it goes by the name BA.2.86, while the researchers try to get to know it better. – We don’t know much yet. We only know that it is very different from the variants we have in circulation today, says section leader in FHI Karoline Bragstad to news. This morning, news told about the Eris variant that has begun to dominate in southern Europe, but it is, in contrast to BA.2.86, quite similar to the viruses that are already circulating. While Eris has two mutations in the important parts of the virus, the new variant has between 30 and 40 mutations. The new and modified variant has so far been detected in four people in three different countries. Israel, Denmark and the USA. – It probably shows that it has probably spread around the world for some time already, says Bragstad. In record speed, the variant has ended up on the WHO’s list of variants to be monitored separately, but there are still too few cases to be able to categorize it as a variant of concern. Know very little So far, little is known about how the virus variant behaves, what kind of symptoms it causes or how contagious it is. – The variant is of great interest. What consequences it will have is currently very unclear. We look at it with some concern, says Bragstad. FHI now examines all viruses they receive against the new variant. So far they have not detected BA.2.86 in Norway. – Now the world community has become aware of it. We will probably learn about more cases in the next few days, says Bragstad. Examining the vaccine’s effect BA.2.86 has a certain kinship to the Omikron variant BA. 2 which circulated in Norway in early 2022. – It is somewhat similar to BA.2, but also has many changes that we are looking at with interest, says Bragstad. – It may look as if this variant may have arisen in an immunosuppressed patient infected with a BA.2 virus back in time and who has been in treatment for a long time, the virus has been allowed to develop and change over time and has managed to infect further. – Will the vaccines protect against this new variant? – It is far too early to say and it will be very important to investigate in the future. The vaccine has so far been very protective against all the variants we have received. But in general it is important to have a refresher dose for risk groups in winter and autumn, says Bragstad. She emphasizes that, so far, they do not know anything to indicate that BA.2.86 gives a different picture of the disease than the variants we already know. – It probably doesn’t. But we have only seen four cases and need more information. But right now there is nothing to indicate that it causes more serious illness than others, says Bragstad. If BA.2.86 spreads enough and becomes dominant in the world, it will be nicknamed Pi. – Good basic protection Gunnveig Grødeland believes we already have good basic protection against new varieties. Photo: Ola Sæther Vaccine researcher and immunologist Gunnveig Grødeland says that vaccination and previous infection will provide good basic protection against serious illness from mutating viruses. – Viruses, and especially viruses with RNA as genetic material (e.g. SARS-CoV-2 and influenza) will continuously mutate, and it is completely undramatic that there will be 30 mutations in a virus where we have good basic protection, Grødeland tells news . She points out that it has long been known that vaccines do not protect against infection or mild disease, but that they give us the basis we need to protect ourselves against serious disease. – The disease picture for this, and other future variants of SARS-CoV-2, will be the same. We now have such good protection against SARS-CoV-2 as a starting point that what we can get from SARS-CoV-2 in the foreseeable future is milder disease. – There is no reason why the general population should now think that they need a refresher because a new variant has arrived. The very elderly and people with a serious underlying illness should check that they have followed the vaccine recommendations for booster doses, she says.
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FHI monitors new and very changed corona variant – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
