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What the CDC knows
BA.2.87.1 is a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and was identified in South Africa by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases. The CDC is tracking this variant closely because it has a higher number of mutations compared to previous variants. To date, BA.2.87.1 has not been identified in clinical samples outside of South Africa. As this is a newly emerged variant, there is not a lot of additional data on its potential impact. So far, the public health risk from this new variant appears to be low.
What does the CDC do?
CDC continues to track the emergence and spread of new variants around the world through genomic surveillance. CDC is working closely with our South African partners to gather the latest information on BA.2.87.1. CDC and its partners are continually evaluating the potential impact on vaccines, testing, and treatments.
CDC is tracking BA.2.87.1
CDC is tracking and analyzing BA.2.87.1, a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19). To date, the variant has been detected nine times in South Africa. The viruses originated from specimens collected between September and December 2023 and were posted to a public database on January 31st. The CDC monitors the sequence of patient cases and other surveillance systems, including international arrivals and wastewater. The fact that only nine cases have been detected in a country since the first samples were taken in September suggests that, at least for now, it does not appear to be very contagious.
BA.2.87.1 has more than 30 changes to the virus's spike protein when compared to XBB.1.5, the variant that the updated (2023-2024) vaccine was designed to protect against, the CDC said. is being followed closely. The spike protein is what the immune system targets when a virus enters the body. Our immune system is primed to protect us through vaccines and immunity from previous infections. In theory, variants with multiple changes in the spike protein could be more likely to escape this immunity.
Over the past year, major changes have been made to the spike protein in several variants. However, despite these changes, pre-existing immunity from vaccines or previous infections still provides sufficient protection. It remains to be seen how well existing immunity will withstand BA.2.87.1. However, our immune system now has several years of experience with this virus and vaccines and generally provides protection against a wide range of variants.
Impact on vaccines, treatments and testing
It is too early to know how effective current vaccines are against BA.2.87.1. However, recent experience with JN.1 suggests that modern COVID-19 vaccines may help increase protection against various variants. Additionally, there is hope that treatments and testing will continue to be effective, based on analysis conducted by the SARS-CoV-2 Interagency Group, a group of scientific experts representing multiple government agencies.
CDC's current assessment of BA.2.87.1
The CDC plans to closely monitor this variant because it has numerous changes to the spike protein and could potentially evade pre-existing immunity from vaccines or past infection.
The detection of BA.2.87.1 cases in three South African provinces over a three-month period indicates that this variant can be transmitted between people, unlike other variants with many mutations. It shows that. But few cases have been detected since the first samples were taken in September, suggesting so far that the virus does not appear to be highly contagious.
The experience with BA.2.86 shows that a virus's ability to infect can change rapidly over time. While BA.2.86 spread relatively slowly, JN.1, which resulted from a single mutation in BA.2.86, spread very rapidly and became the dominant variant worldwide.
The CDC has not yet detected any cases of BA.2.87.1 in the United States. CDC continues to track the emergence and spread of new variants through national genomic surveillance.
At this time, it is unclear how effective current vaccines are against BA.2.87.1. The CDC is hopeful that the latest COVID-19 vaccines will improve protection and maintain the effectiveness of treatments and tests against this variant.
Based on current information, the public health risk posed by BA.2.87.1 appears to be low. CDC is closely monitoring this new variant and will update as more information becomes available.
