Over the past few weeks, the Corona variant subtype EG.5 (“Aris”) has dominated the discussion, but now warnings are circulating about the new variant BA.2.86, which has already been detected in Germany and Switzerland, But has not yet been found in Austria. , It is said to be significantly different from previous Omicron variants and has more than 30 mutations. But is she as infectious as “Eris” (the Greek goddess of discord)?
Pessimists are already warning of a serious corona autumn wave, all possible scenarios are being worked out, and even the requirement for masks in some areas is being discussed again.
But things may not be so bad if German Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) adopts a moderate tone as he recently did on X (formerly Twitter): the politician, considered the embodiment of corona caution, writes : “Some good news. The heavily modified variant BA.2.86 is now considered significantly less infectious than the rising EG.5 variant by one of the best SarsCov laboratories that evaluated the variant. This means the new vaccine , which will be available from September 18, will provide good protection in autumn/winter.”
