How Bad Could BA.2.86 Get?

Until the future of the new COVID variant becomes clear, three scenarios are still possible.

The Coronavirus Is Evolving Before Our Eyes

The virus is mutating as expected. We can still stop it.

What you need to know about the new COVID-19 variants

The reason people are concerned is that a lot of the mutations in these new variants are in the site targeted by the vaccines, something called the spike protein. But just because we’re seeing changes in the spike protein of these variants doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to undermine the vaccine.

As Coronavirus Mutates, the World Stumbles Again to Respond

A South African tip led to the discovery of mutations around the world. With infections skyrocketing, “it’s a race against time.”

Concerning coronavirus mutation now found in UK variant – here’s what you need to know

While all mutations found in emerging variants of coronavirus should be monitored, scientists are particularly interested in mutations occurring in the virus’s spike protein, specifically the receptor-binding domain (RBD) section of the spike protein.

Coronavirus variants, viral mutation and COVID-19 vaccines: The science you need to understand

The medical community needs to make a big push and get as many people vaccinated and thus protected as possible. If not, the virus will continue to grow in large numbers of people and produce new variants.

Emerging Coronavirus Variants May Pose Challenges to Vaccines

Laboratory studies of mutations circulating in South Africa suggest they may dodge some of the body’s immune responses.

How Scientists Trace New Coronavirus Variants

You know, these are viruses, and like everything on Earth, they change over time. But viruses, in particular, they're replicating and spreading quickly, and they have high mutation rates compared to us.

Inside the race to tweak covid-19 vaccines and stay ahead of mutations

IT IS looking likely that covid-19 vaccines will have to be updated in the coming months to remain effective against new variants of the coronavirus. Several vaccine manufacturers have confirmed that they are already working on new versions of their vaccines to make sure they remain effective. But what does updating the vaccines involve and how long will it take? At least two vaccines are less effective against the B.1.351 variant of coronavirus that was first identified in South Africa.

New coronavirus variants could cause more reinfections, require updated vaccines

Emerging variants of the coronavirus have been in the news ever since scientists raised the alarm over B.1.1.7, a SARS-CoV-2 variant that first caught scientists’ attention in England in December and that is more transmissible than previously circulating viruses.

New Covid-19 Strains: What Scientists Know About Coronavirus Variants

New versions of the novel coronavirus are spreading across the globe. Researchers fear the new lineages may spread more easily—and one may be more deadly.

The Coronavirus Is Mutating. What Does That Mean for Us?

Officials in Britain and South Africa claim new variants are more easily transmitted. There’s a lot more to the story, scientists say.

The Most Worrying Mutations in Five Emerging Coronavirus Variants

Here is a guide to novel versions of the COVID-causing virus—and genetic changes that can make them more contagious and evasive in the body.

Those Covid-19 variants? ‘Don’t worry yet,’ vaccine expert says

So the critical question is not are variants being produced. Of course they’re going to be produced. The critical question is do these variants make the virus more contagious, more virulent, and most importantly, far and away most importantly, have these variants evaded recognition by vaccine-induced immune response?

UK coronavirus variant gets nastier as South African variant spreads

Coronavirus variants are becoming increasingly concerning as they mutate. Samples of the more transmissible B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant, which was first detected in the UK, have acquired a mutation that will help them evade immune protection – the same mutation already present in the B.1.351 variant in South Africa, which is now spreading worldwide.

What you can do right now to protect yourself from the new COVID-19 variants

There’s been a lot of talk going around about new variants of COVID-19. To date, scientists have identified more than 4,000 COVID-19 variants over this past year. Some of these strains, including the one that originated in the UK known as B.1.1.7, seem to be more infectious than other variants. Another strain, a variant first identified in South Africa (called 501Y.V2), has mutations on the so-called spike protein that is giving vaccine developers pause. Moderna has already found that its vaccine is slightly less effective against the South African variant.

What’s the risk of dying from a fast-spreading COVID-19 variant?

Cevik says more data and analysis are needed to conclude whether the variant is more deadly than other lineages. For instance, the latest study doesn’t consider whether people infected with the variant have underlying comorbidities, such as diabetes and obesity, and are therefore more vulnerable and at higher risk of dying, she says. The study also covers only a small fraction of COVID-19 deaths in the United Kingdom — some 7%

Why new COVID-19 variants are on the rise and spreading around the world

Evolutionary biologists, including myself, have cautioned against over-interpreting the threat posed by mutations. Most mutations will not help the virus, just like randomly kicking a working machine is unlikely to make it better.

A guide to Delta-plus, Lambda, and other super infectious coronavirus variants

Mutations are normal, but there’s still a lot virologists don’t understand about the new variants.

The worst COVID-19 variants ranked

What you need to know about the different strains of COVID-19. How do different variants compare to each other?

What's Going On With All These Coronavirus Variants? An Illustrated Guide

OK. So what in the heck is going on with all these variants? Why is everyone so worried? And how do they work?

New BA.2.75 Omicron Subvariant: Here’s The ‘Centaurus’ Covid-19 Coronavirus

While it ain’t the “Centaurus” of Covid-19 attention right now, the new BA.2.75 Omicron subvariant does deserve to be closely monitored.

Beyond Omicron: what’s next for COVID’s viral evolution

The rapid spread of new variants offers clues to how SARS-CoV-2 is adapting and how the pandemic will play out over the next several months.

The Vanishing Variants: Lessons from Gamma, Iota and Mu

Studying the coronavirus variants that have faded away could help us prepare for what comes next, scientists say.

Vaccines seem to work well against coronavirus variants. It’s also complicated

The question about how Covid-19 vaccines stand up to coronavirus variants often gets distilled to: Do they work? The simplest answer is yes. People who’ve received one of the highly powerful vaccines don’t need to be too worried about the variants for now,

What to Know About the New Covid Variants

While severe illness in older adults and people with underlying conditions is always a concern, as is long Covid in anyone who gets infected, experts say EG.5 and HV.1 do not pose a substantial threat — or at least no more of one than any of the other major variants that have circulated this year.

Beyond Omicron: what’s next for COVID’s viral evolution

As the world sped towards a pandemic in early 2020, evolutionary biologist Jesse Bloom gazed into the future of SARS-CoV-2. Like many virus specialists at the time, he predicted that the new pathogen would not be eradicated. Rather, it would become endemic — the fifth coronavirus to permanently establish itself in humans, alongside four ‘seasonal’ coronaviruses that cause relatively mild colds and have been circulating in humans for decades or more...

Can Vaccines Stop Variants? Here's What We Know So Far

Because T cells get involved after an infection is underway, O'Brien said this suggests that even if a particular vaccine is not good at preventing infection by a variant, it may at least still end up substantially reducing the infection's severity.

Covid This Fall: What’s the Same, What’s Different and What to Know

The latest on new variants, vaccines and testing.

Health Experts Warily Eye XBB.1.5, the Latest Omicron Subvariant

“It is the most transmissible variant that has been detected yet,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the Covid-19 technical lead at the World Health Organization, said at a news conference on Wednesday.

How Bad Could BA.2.86 Get?

Since Omicron swept across the globe in 2021, the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 has moved at a slower and more predictable pace. New variants of interest have come and gone, but none have matched Omicron’s 30-odd mutations or its ferocious growth. Then, about two weeks ago, a variant descended from BA.2 popped up with 34 mutations in its spike protein—a leap in viral evolution that sure looked a lot like Omicron. The question became: Could it also spread as quickly and as widely as Omicron?

How Covid-19's symptoms have changed with each new variant

With a new variant of the Sars-CoV-2 virus causing a spike in cases, it is demonstrating just how much the disease has changed since the pandemic began – and what happened to "Covid toe".

Human Behavior During the Pandemic Is More Important Than Any Covid Variant

The coronavirus vaccines that have been developed are very effective in preventing severe disease and death caused by all variants, including Delta. Vaccines might not always prevent infections, but they make a substantial impact in reducing virus spread and risk for serious health problems. People who are unvaccinated are at a great risk for infection and harm from any variant of the coronavirus.

Meet the ‘Kraken’ COVID variant—the dominant new Omicron ‘escape strain’ experts say is the most transmissible yet

Experts are eyeing the new Omicron strain XBB.1.5—dubbed “Kraken” on the Twitterverse—for its potential to cause the next major COVID wave, thanks to its immune-escape ability and ultrahigh transmissibility.

Omicron travel bans penalize South Africa for being transparent

Countries across the world are rushing to put African nations on travel red lists. And that is bad news for global health. South Africa’s prompt efforts to sequence and identify the new omicron variant have triggered a worldwide response to contain any new outbreaks, which scientists say must be lauded.

The unusual Lambda variant is rapidly spreading in South America. Here’s what we know.

Its mutations help it dodge the immune system. Researchers are scrambling to figure out if it is more dangerous or transmissible than Delta.

The US has a new Covid-19 variant on the rise. Meet Eris

What “Eris” tells us about the future of the pandemic.

There’s Already Another New Dominant Covid Strain. Here’s What to Know

Now, one subvariant, XBB.1.5, seems to be spreading even faster. A hybrid of two BA.2 variants and a relative of the so-called “nightmare variant,” XBB, which caused a surge in Singapore in the fall, XBB.1.5 is raising concerns about a potential wave in the United States as people return from holiday travel.

What Happens When We Run Out of Greek Letters for Variants?

Delta surges, alpha remains a concern. Gamma is less transmissible, while beta is more contagious. A few weeks ago, scientists were concerned about epsilon, which is potentially able to evade antibodies from vaccines; On Monday Texas saw its first case of lambda. These are all variants of the coronavirus, of course, though some have received less time in the spotlight than others

What to Know About the New Dominant Covid Variant

EG.5 is spreading quickly, but experts say it’s no more dangerous than previous versions.

Why COVID’s XBB.1.5 ‘Kraken’ Variant Is So Contagious

A new variant of the virus that causes COVID has mutations that make it more transmissible, but vaccines are still likely to protect against severe disease.

‘Stealth Omicron’ is spreading slowly in the US

Mutations are normal, but there’s still a lot we don’t know.