A highly mutated variant of the virus behind COVID-19 has popped up in multiple countries, but scientists aren’t yet sure whether it will help fuel a fall wave of infections or simply fizzle out.
BA.2.86 was deemed a variant under monitoring by the World Health Organization on Aug. 17. Though only a handful of samples exist, its emergence across several continents since it was first identified in late July, coupled with its unusually high number of mutations, has put COVID watchers on high alert.
In the ever-growing SARS-CoV-2 family tree, BA.2.86 likely stemmed from BA.2, an Omicron descendent that helped spark a wave of infections
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