The new variant has been given the nickname Pirola by scientists on social media.
COVID-19 infections and hospitalisations have been rising in the US, Europe and Asia, with more cases in recent months attributed to the EG.5 "Eris" subvariant, a descendant of the Omicron lineage that originally emerged in November 2021.According to the WHO, Eris is still a Variant of Interest - a level of classification below Variant under Monitoring.
"Given our past history with BA.2 which remained in circulation in Australia until early this year, some of us might have some cross protection." "We know nothing yet about its pathogenicity , but several of the mutations tell us that it is likely to be good at evading immunity, and hence have increased transmissibility.
"The way we've been naming variants has actually been really unhelpful, all of the main variants scientists are talking about now are actually still Omicron.Variants of the virus causing COVID-19 and the date they were first discovered.Experts have warned that many Australians are no longer reporting COVID-19 infections and therefore data is not as complete as it could be.
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