LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is tracking a new COVID-19 strain, BA.2.86, a highly mutated variant that was discovered in Michigan last week as the first case of its kind in the country. The variant has been spotted in the United States, Denmark, Israel and the U.K. This variant is described as being a “variant under monitoring” by the World Health Organization (WHO).

A lab at the University of Michigan recently reported the first case of BA.2.86 in Michigan but hasn’t said if samples collected were from a patient in their health system or from a different source. Dr. Adam Lauring, a University of Michigan professor who runs the lab that sequenced the case, said on social media, “Number of folks have contacted me asking about details of BA.2.86 that was sequenced in my lab. We sequence from a large catchment area in Michigan (supported by Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). I am unable to share details of the case. It is being investigated by public health authorities.”

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Michigan News Source reached out to Lynn Sutfin, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), about the infection in Michigan and she said, “The CDC is closely tracking a new lineage of the virus that causes COVID-19 named BA.2.86, which has many mutations that make it distinct from other currently circulating lineages. So far, seven cases have been detected worldwide, including a case in Michigan. The patient from Washtenaw County is an older adult with mild symptoms and has not been hospitalized.”

Sutfin continued, “Based on the available evidence, it is not known yet what risks, if any, this may pose to the public’s health beyond what has been seen with other currently circulating lineages. We are working with the CDC, which is collaborating with domestic and international partners to gather more information. The CDC has not made any changes to their guidance at this time. Public health agencies continue to investigate cases and test available specimens to understand the spread of COVID-19 in the population. The University of Michigan and the State of Michigan both sequence COVID-19 viruses to detect new variants, which is how this variant was identified.”

Sutfin also noted, “It’s important for people to use the tools at their disposal to keep themselves safe and understand their individual risk, like testing when sick and asking about therapeutics for those who test positive and are eligible, plus vaccines and boosters. We continue to urge Michiganders to get up to date with their COVID-19 vaccination as the vaccine remains our best defense against serious illness and hospitalization.”

Because the variant is genetically different from other variants, it’s unknown what effect current vaccines will have on BA.2.86 and the other new variants. Reports in the media say that the new vaccines will “likely” protect against the new variants and are “expected” to protect against them. The new vaccines and boosters are expected to roll-out in September.

Elsewhere in the United States, there is also concern about the new COVID-19 variant EG.5, also referred to as “Eris” (nicknamed after the Greek goddess of strife and discord) by evolutionary biologist, T. Ryan Gregory. Although hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 have been far below previous peaks of the past, they have been climbing over the past several weeks according to multiple sources.

The CDC’s Covid Data Tracker releases projections of COVID-19 variants dominant around the country every two weeks and their website says, “SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is constantly changing and accumulating mutations in its genetic code over time. New variants of SARS-CoV-2 are expected to continue to emerge. Some variants will emerge and disappear, while others will emerge and continue to spread and may replace previous variants.”

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The Eris variant is a descendant of Omicron and is the dominant coronavirus subvariant in the country right now, making up about 20% of the new infections. Just how deadly is the new variant?  Scott Roberts, MD, a Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist says, “I am not aware of data that suggests EG.5 leads to worse cases of COVID-19 compared to prior variants.”

In Michigan, as of Friday, August 18th, there were 201 patients listed with COVID-19 in Michigan hospitals (13 in ICU) which is double the number of hospitalizations from earlier in the month. Comparatively, a year ago there were 1,289 COVID-19 patients in Michigan hospitals, with 116 of them in ICU. MDHHS is also reporting only two COVID-19 deaths this week and five last week. There were 39 deaths in July of this year compared to 411 in July of last year.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is spending $1.4 billion to develop COVID-19 treatments and vaccines even though they have declared the pandemic to be over. This grant money, part of the government’s “Project NextGen” will be used to develop “a new generation of tools and technologies to protect against COVID-19 for years to come.”

With Covid back in the news, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported that the private liberal arts college Morris Brown College on the west side of Atlanta has reinstated mask mandates as a “precautionary step.”

Also the Hollywood studio Lionsgate as reinstitute mask mandates as well.

Michigan’s statewide COVID-19 orders and the state’s mask mandate ended in June of 2021 and masking up in Michigan is mostly voluntary now with hospitals even stepping back on their mandates in April of this year. The state’s updated mask guidance dated February of 2022 says that, “MDHHS supports adjusting mask recommendations as we cycle through periods of response, recovery and readiness and following local health department decisions based on local conditions”

What about Covid tests? Will they be able to detect the new variants? That’s up in the air as well with reports like the one at CBS saying, “They seem to work.”