WHO keeping closer watch on BA.2.86 strain as a dearth of data makes predictions difficult

(CNN) – The World Health Organization has notched up the status of the coronavirus strain BA.2.86 and its offshoots, naming it a “variant of interest,” although the organization said the current risk from this family of viruses appears to be low. Previously, the organization had been following this lineage as a “variant under monitoring.” WHO also has XBB.1.5, XBB.1.6 and EG.5 classified as variants of interest. There are no current variants of concern, the highest designation. BA.2.86 first turned up in the U.S. in August and is now the third most common variant, causing an estimated 1 in 11 new cases of COVID-19 here, according to the latest update of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s variant tracker. The prevalence appears to have tripled in the past two weeks, although a variant’s growth is often overestimated in the first few weeks after it shows up in the CDC’s monitoring. Related Stories But if BA.2.86 doesn’t appear to be such big deal, why would WHO upgrade it? “We’ve seen a slow and steady increase in its detection around the world,” said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19, in a video posted on social media. “By characterizing...