CDC updates BA.2.86 assessment as countries report more sequences

CDC updates BA.2.86 assessment as countries report more sequences Inserm/Flickr cc CIDRAP

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday updated its initial assessment of the highly mutated BA.2.86 SARS-CoV-2 variant, which said sporadic detections continue to be reported at the global level, including in the United States, where it has been picked up by three different genomic monitoring systems.

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The CDC said BA.2.86 made up less than 1% of circulating viruses over the past 2 weeks in the United States and emphasized that the country's rise in COVID hospitalizations is likely fueled by XBB viruses that are similar to the lineage included in the updated vaccine, which it said will be available in mid-September.

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