New COVID strain: BA.2.86

Per this report:

"The BA.2.86 variant could be better equipped than other strains to evade antibodies, even in people who have recently been vaccinated or infected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week that existing tests and antiviral treatments should be effective on this strain."

"BA.2.86 already has more than 30 mutations on its spike protein, the part of the virus that vaccines lead the body to fight off. Antibodies successful against other variants could have trouble recognizing this one."

"'This is a radical change of the virus like what happened with omicron, which caught a lot of people defenseless," said Eric Topol of the Scripps Research Translational Institute. 'Even if they had a vaccine or prior infection, it could still get into them and infect them again or for the first time. We are facing that again.'"