Since the last BA.2.86 update, lab and epidemiological data have trickled in. Many of us took a big sigh of relief after seeing specific results over the weekend. Here is your update. Lab data Three labs have already tested BA.2.86 in a petri dish. (The speed of scientific discovery for SARS-CoV-2 still amazes me). They found three main things:
Any update on when the ‘23 monovalent boosters will be at pharmacies and doctor’s offices ready to go?
Also, the UK is restricting autumn booster eligibility to those at greatest risk : 65+ yo, residents of care homes for older adults, people in a “clinical risk group,” frontline health and social care workers, the immunosuppressed, etc (see link below). The UK moved their release date forward to September 11. In the US, our boosters won't even be through the FDA/CDC process yet. There seems to be a great sense of urgency, at least in the UK.
Will autumn boosters be similarly restricted here in the US?
I hope you can include another "unanswered question" in future posts on this general topic: "is it more or less likely to lead to Long COVID?" If YLE is not mentioning LC for a reason, please say why. Otherwise, these posts feed into the narratives that minimize LC and gaslight patients.
Thank you for the update. Are symptoms with the new variant similar to past variants? I've known of a couple of people who recently become ill and have lost their sense of smell. Obviously, we don't know which variant they had, but it seemed like this symptom was more common with past variants than the newer ones.
So I guess I'm left wondering - if it traded antibody escape for infectivity, isn't that kind of a wash? At the end of the day, I want to know "Will I get sick?" and I don't much care which mechanism is preventing sickness.
So, we don’t know its growth rate or severity because surveillance is massively down? In other words, che sera sera? For this variant, for any future Covid variant, and for any future pandemic?
Thank you, once again, for the timely, clear update. Can you say more what variables you are looking at to determine that we are in a wave? (I continue to find the wastewater data hard to read--but it looks like, at least in my area, we are approaching March 2023 levels.) Related, do you have any additional recommendations with regard to personal mitigation in response to the wave?
This is very reassuring news, Dr. Jetalina. Thank you for sharing it with us. Now we sit tight until next week’s meeting here in the US on the details regarding the fall boosters :-)
How do we get at home test? Should we start buying them now vs waiting because of expiration dates? What if we still have some free tests? Do you think they’re still useable?
I purchased more masks yesterday. I think I’ll get some cleaning supplies and hand sanitizer too; just in case.
Diagnosed a case of influenza B today with rapid testing, in a patient who also had Covid diagnosed less than 2 weeks ago.
80 yo feeling really fatigued, dizzy, congested, and with productive cough. Could have assumed it was still Covid, but repeat rapid Covid test negative, and spidey sense lead me to check for flu...
So yeah, Covid is here, and flu I think coming sooner than we would like.
And the fact that he picked up flu <2 weeks after Covid means not the best isolation going on out there.
Treating.
...and the kids are back to school so here we go...
What is the difference in terms of getting sick from BA.2.86 with regard to the virus being better able to avoid antibodies but having less infectivity. Does that mean it is less infection than it would have been had the variables been reversed, i.e., less able to escape antibodies but having greater infectivity.
I just experienced TGA, Transient Global Amnesia, two days before I had Covid symptoms. What is the evidence of a link between these two incidents? My neighbor experienced the same sequence of events two weeks before me.
Respectfully following-up from a few YLE posts ago were Dr. K recommended that anyone infected wait “at least 6 months” before getting a booster and promised more detail in future posts. Would love to know more about the “why” behind this.
Any update on when the ‘23 monovalent boosters will be at pharmacies and doctor’s offices ready to go?
Also, the UK is restricting autumn booster eligibility to those at greatest risk : 65+ yo, residents of care homes for older adults, people in a “clinical risk group,” frontline health and social care workers, the immunosuppressed, etc (see link below). The UK moved their release date forward to September 11. In the US, our boosters won't even be through the FDA/CDC process yet. There seems to be a great sense of urgency, at least in the UK.
Will autumn boosters be similarly restricted here in the US?
https://healthmedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/08/08/covid-autumn-booster-vaccine-2023-everything-you-need-to-know/
I hope you can include another "unanswered question" in future posts on this general topic: "is it more or less likely to lead to Long COVID?" If YLE is not mentioning LC for a reason, please say why. Otherwise, these posts feed into the narratives that minimize LC and gaslight patients.
Thank you for the update. Are symptoms with the new variant similar to past variants? I've known of a couple of people who recently become ill and have lost their sense of smell. Obviously, we don't know which variant they had, but it seemed like this symptom was more common with past variants than the newer ones.
So this is like saying that the latest variant is better at evading the patrol and worse at scaling the wall?
Our neighbors across the river in Canada are masking up. I plan to be ready with masks, sanitizers and heightened awareness.
So I guess I'm left wondering - if it traded antibody escape for infectivity, isn't that kind of a wash? At the end of the day, I want to know "Will I get sick?" and I don't much care which mechanism is preventing sickness.
So, we don’t know its growth rate or severity because surveillance is massively down? In other words, che sera sera? For this variant, for any future Covid variant, and for any future pandemic?
Seems awfully close to the truth.
Thank you, once again, for the timely, clear update. Can you say more what variables you are looking at to determine that we are in a wave? (I continue to find the wastewater data hard to read--but it looks like, at least in my area, we are approaching March 2023 levels.) Related, do you have any additional recommendations with regard to personal mitigation in response to the wave?
This is very reassuring news, Dr. Jetalina. Thank you for sharing it with us. Now we sit tight until next week’s meeting here in the US on the details regarding the fall boosters :-)
All those immune escape mutations seem to be adding up to much less than the sum of the parts.
JPWeiland (a modeller) on Twitter says,
"Based on the data alone (suggested reduced infectivity AND only modest immune escape) one would think it wouldn't spread at all, and die out.
But we're finding it popping up everywhere and growing.
Something isn't adding up, but I'm not sure what it is."
Some are also saying it wouldn't be surprising if it mutates to gain some infectivity.
Guess we'll have to stay tuned!
How do we get at home test? Should we start buying them now vs waiting because of expiration dates? What if we still have some free tests? Do you think they’re still useable?
I purchased more masks yesterday. I think I’ll get some cleaning supplies and hand sanitizer too; just in case.
Glad no bombshells here!
Seeing a lot of Covid in office right now.
Diagnosed a case of influenza B today with rapid testing, in a patient who also had Covid diagnosed less than 2 weeks ago.
80 yo feeling really fatigued, dizzy, congested, and with productive cough. Could have assumed it was still Covid, but repeat rapid Covid test negative, and spidey sense lead me to check for flu...
So yeah, Covid is here, and flu I think coming sooner than we would like.
And the fact that he picked up flu <2 weeks after Covid means not the best isolation going on out there.
Treating.
...and the kids are back to school so here we go...
What is the difference in terms of getting sick from BA.2.86 with regard to the virus being better able to avoid antibodies but having less infectivity. Does that mean it is less infection than it would have been had the variables been reversed, i.e., less able to escape antibodies but having greater infectivity.
Thanks,
I just experienced TGA, Transient Global Amnesia, two days before I had Covid symptoms. What is the evidence of a link between these two incidents? My neighbor experienced the same sequence of events two weeks before me.
Respectfully following-up from a few YLE posts ago were Dr. K recommended that anyone infected wait “at least 6 months” before getting a booster and promised more detail in future posts. Would love to know more about the “why” behind this.
Will Novamax also cover the new variant? I'm still hoping to find a place that gives it this fall.