New ‘Pirola’ Covid variant is rapidly spreading – latest

A new Covid vaccine that has been manufactured to specifically target the Omicron variant of the original virus is set to be released in mid-September, according to the CDC.

A new highly mutated coronavirus variant has been detected in Switzerland and South Africa, prompting scientists to raise alarm bells over a possible explosion of Covid-19 cases.

The Omicron offshoot, called BA.2.86, carries more than 35 mutations in key portions of the virus compared with XBB.1.5 – the dominant variant through most of 2023.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar reports:

A virulent new Covid-19 strain has been detected in wastewater testing in Ohio, the third state to report the vaccine-resistant variant.

A new, rapidly spreading coronavirus variant has sounded alarm bells for public health experts in the United States amid a rise in cases across the country.

Doctors warned that the BA.2.86 variant – unofficially called “Pirola” – may be cause for concern as it is a newly-designated, highly-mutated variant of Omicron which triggered a surge in cases in a number of countries including the US.

According to a Thursday bulletin in Yale Medicine, the new variant has more than 30 mutations to its spike protein – located on the outer surface of a coronavirus – which helps it enter and infect human cells.

“Such a high number of mutations is notable,” infectious disease specialist Dr Scott Roberts said. “When we went from [Omicron variant] XBB.1.5 to [Eris] EG.5, that was maybe one or two mutations.

“But these massive shifts, which we also saw from Delta to Omicron, are worrisome.”

Hundreds of people have been charged with the theft of more than $830 million in COVID-19 emergency aid following a nationwide operation conducted by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday.

More than 60 of the defendants have alleged connections to organized crime, the department said, including members of a criminal gang accused of using stolen pandemic aid to pay for a murder.

“This latest action, involving over 300 defendants and over $830 million in alleged COVID-19 fraud, should send a clear message: the COVID-19 public health emergency may have ended, but the Justice Department’s work to identify and prosecute those who stole pandemic relief funds is far from over,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

The three-month operation, which ended in July, resulted in more than 300 people being charged,, underscoring the pervasiveness of the fraud.

“We’ll stay at it for as long as it takes,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, who led of a meeting of law enforcement officials livestreamed on the Justice Department’s website.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Florida Democratic Representative Jared Moskowitz listed off a series of former president Donald Trump’s lies about Covid-19 during a House subcommittee hearing on the origins of the pandemic.

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic convened on Tuesday to discuss the origins, with Republicans largely focusing on the likelihood that a lab leak in the Wuhan province caused the virus to spread.

On X, Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote that she refuses to vote in favor of government funding if Congress does not “Eliminate all COVID vaccine and mandates.”

Covid vaccines have been credited with saving millions of lives by protecting them against severe illness that can be caused by infection. Additionally, the federal government does not control mask mandates over the states.

The New York City Department of Health said that the Covid variant, BA.2.86, has been detected in wastewater.

BA.2.86 is a subvariant of Omicron and is quickly spreading throughout the US and parts of the world. It has been nicknamed “Pirola”.

So far, early studies indicate the variant poses no greater risk of causing severe illness than previous variants and subvariants. But there are indications it can evade antibodies built up by previous infections or vaccinations.

“While we have yet to find it in a specimen from a local resident, it is almost certainly circulating here,” a press release from the department reads.

The NYC Department of Health said they were monitoring BA.2.86 closely and working with the CDC And WHO.

Dr Deborah Birx, who served as White House coronavirus response coordinator under then-president Donald Trump, said in a new interview with ABC News that by ignoring Covid, Americans are living in a “fantasy world”.

From August 13 to 19, Covid deaths jumped 21.4 per cent and hospitalisations rose 18.8 per cent compared to the previous week, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Hospitalisations are lower than they were during the same time in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Global health authorities are monitoring EG.5.1, a new variant that is gaining traction.

“We’re pretending that Covid is not relevant,” Dr Birx said. “But I can tell you…you know two or three people who have Covid. That means that five to 10 per cent of your friends already have Covid.”

Instead, she argued the US should use mRNA technology to quickly tailor boosters to new variants no matter what time of year they emerge.

“I think we wanted to make [Covid] like flu, because that was easier. But it’s never going to be like flu,” she said. “It stays with us in between the waves.”

She added that the current administration should have addressed the summer wave more aggressively. “What the federal government needs to do is lay out the plan that says, ‘We’re not done with Covid, Covid’s not done with us. 250,000 Americans died in 2022. We’ve got do to a better job in 2023. And this is part of our better job.’”