New data on BA.2.86 suggest the fall booster may work well

September 10, 2023.Reading time 4 minutes.

Since BA.2.86 emerged a couple of weeks ago, scientists around the world have been racing to evaluate this variant. Several teams posted data in the last week, and the news is promising: while BA.2.86 does have an advantage over past variants, the lab findings suggest that vaccines (including the upcoming boosters) and past infections provide protection against it.

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Wastewater surveillance is crucial for tracking new variants, BA.2.86 shows us

September 3, 2023.Reading time 8 minutes.

This week, the health department in New York City, where I live, announced that they’d identified new variant BA.2.86 in the city’s wastewater. I covered the news for local outlet Gothamist/WNYC, and the story got me thinking about how important wastewater surveillance has become for tracking variants.

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National numbers, September 3

September 3, 2023.Reading time 5 minutes.

The late-summer COVID-19 surge is still in full swing, with all major metrics showing further increases in disease spread this week. BA.2.86 isn’t spreading widely yet but is worth continued surveillance.

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Variant Q&A: Why scientists are concerned about BA.2.86, and which questions they’re still investigating

August 27, 2023.Reading time 16 minutes.

Last week, I introduced you to BA.2.86, a new Omicron variant that’s garnered attention among COVID-19 experts due to its significant mutations. We’ve learned a lot about BA.2.86 since last Sunday, though there are many unanswered questions to be answered as more research is conducted.

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BA.2.86 is the latest variant to watch; send me your questions

August 20, 2023.Reading time 3 minutes.

Last week, several variant experts that I follow on Twitter started posting about a new SARS-CoV-2 variant, first detected in Israel. They initially called it Omicron BA.X while waiting for more details to emerge about the sequence; it’s now been named BA.2.86.

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National numbers, August 20

August 20, 2023.Reading time 5 minutes.

The summer COVID-19 surge continues. While wastewater surveillance data suggest that transmission trends may be turning around in some places, the virus is largely still increasing across the U.S. New variants are on the horizon, too.

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National numbers, August 6

August 6, 2023.Reading time 5 minutes.

Over the last few weeks, the signals of a summer COVID-19 surge in the U.S. have grown steadily clearer. Viral levels in wastewater, test positivity, and hospitalizations are all climbing across the country.

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National numbers, July 23

July 23, 2023.Reading time 5 minutes.

COVID-19 data in the U.S. is showing increasingly clear signs of a summer surge, with infections rising across the country. However, thanks to the federal public health emergency’s end, we have less and less data to track this trend.

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National numbers, June 11

June 11, 2023.Reading time 4 minutes.

Nationally, the COVID-19 situation in the U.S. is similar to where we’ve been for the last few weeks. Major metrics (such as we have them) show an overall plateau in disease spread. Wastewater trends in a few places suggest a summer surge might be coming, but it’s hard to say for sure.

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National numbers, May 28

May 28, 2023.Reading time 5 minutes.

The COVID-19 plateau continues, with hospital admissions and viral levels in wastewater (the two main metrics I’m looking at these days) both trending slightly down at the national level. Newer Omicron variants are still on the rise, but don’t seem to be impacting transmission much yet.

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