CDC cautiously eyeing new COVID-19 variant
The CDC said it's too early to know how well current vaccines will work against BA.2.87.1.
Photo: seksan MonKhonkhamsao/Getty Images
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now monitoring a new COVID-19, BA.2.87.1, which has more than 30 changes in the coronavirus spike protein and has been detected nine times in the Republic of South Africa.
As of February 8, no clinical cases of BA.2.87.1 have been identified in the U.S. or anywhere outside of South Africa. But the CDC is still monitoring sequences from patient cases and other surveillance systems that include incoming international travelers and wastewater.
The fact that only nine cases have been detected in one country since the first specimen was collected in September suggests it does not appear to be highly transmissible – at least so far.
It's because of the spike protein changes that the CDC is tracking the variant so closely. It has over 30 changes in the spike protein of the virus when compared to XBB.1.5, the variant that the updated COVID-19 vaccine is designed to protect against.
The spike protein is what the immune system targets when a virus enters a body. Immune systems are primed to protect people through immunity gained from vaccines and previous infections. In theory, variants with multiple changes in the spike protein could increase the possibility of escape from this immunity.
In the past year, several variants have had significant changes in their spike protein. Yet, despite those changes, existing immunity from vaccines and previous infections still provides good protection, the CDC said.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT?
Data from the Republic of South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases sentinel surveillance network indicates no detectable increase in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. Reports of COVID-19 cases to the World Health Organization (WHO) for the region remain low, though recent data on COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths are not available for South Africa.
The CDC said it's too early to know how well current vaccines will work against BA.2.87.1. But recent experience with JN.1 suggests that the updated COVID-19 vaccine can help increase protection against a diverse range of variants. In addition, CDC expects treatments and testing to remain effective based on an analysis conducted by the SARS-CoV-2 Interagency Group, a group of scientific experts representing multiple government agencies.
Based on current information, the public health risk from BA.2.87.1 appears low in the U.S., although the detection of the new variant across three South African provinces indicates the variant can spread between people, unlike other variants with multiple mutations.
THE LARGER TREND
Currently, the fastest-spreading COVID-19 variant in the U.S. is JN.1, representing about 21% of new cases as of December.
JN.1 was first detected in the U.S. in September, and for the first month or so only accounted for 0.1% of coronavirus transmissions. The fact that it has continued to grow and the rate at which it's growing suggest that it's either more transmissible or is better at working around people's immune systems. Still, the CDC didn't find evidence that the variant presents an increased risk to public health compared to other current variants.
That's a positive finding not just for patients, but for hospitals, whose resources and workforces were strained almost to the breaking point during the height of the pandemic.
Jeff Lagasse is editor of Healthcare Finance News.
Email: jlagasse@himss.org
Healthcare Finance News is a HIMSS Media publication.
