Antibodies may work against new variant of Covid – 09/10/2023 – Health

Data from preliminary studies show that antibodies produced by previous infections or by existing coronavirus vaccines were sufficient to protect against the new BA.2.86 variant. The information was released by the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last Friday (8).

The FDA, the agency that regulates and oversees food and medicine in the US, is expected to authorize updated vaccines targeting the XBB.1.5 subvariant of the omicron variant in the coming days. Early data provides encouraging signs for new doses, the CDC said.

The US public health agency added that the new BA.2.86 strain of the coronavirus is not driving the current increase in the number of Covid cases and hospitalizations in the United States, but attributed the surge to other viruses that circulate predominantly.

Since the CDC’s initial risk assessment last month, BA.2.86 has been identified in nine US states, as of Friday. The omicron strain has also been identified in human and wastewater samples in countries such as Japan, the United Kingdom and Canada.

That contrasts with comments made by the CDC in August that the new variant may be more capable of causing infection in people who have already had Covid-19 or who have received vaccines than older variants.