Another Covid-19 variant is being monitored: What is HV.1?

Covid-19 is still among us, despite it being almost 4 years since the first outbreak in China started. As with many viruses, Covid-19 has mutated several times since the beginning of the pandemic.

Some strains have been more severe than others. The current strain Pirola, or BA.2.86 has been spreading quickly since July this year. However, there are reports in the US that a new variant of Covid-19 is spreading and is carefully monitored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

What do we know about this new variant and what do experts think of it?

What is the new Covid-19 variant HV.1?

As mentioned above, the new Covid-19 variant HV.1 has been found in the US. according to Times Now, HV.1 is a variant of the Omicron strain, which is derived from the XBB strain. The CDC has estimated that the HV.1 variant now makes up almost 1 in five cases of Covid-19 in the US.

Experts believe that this new strain could become the most dominant as winter is slowly starting to set in. It is important to note that this strain is still very new and is being closely monitored, this means there isn’t a lot of information about the severity of this new variant.

Professor Schaffner, of infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine said:

My general sense is that the Omicron progeny – the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of Omicron – are, in general, pretty darn transmissible.

Adding:

I don’t think people should be very concerned about this.

The Pirola strain is still spreading in the UK

As per Express, the Pirola strain of Covid-19 is still very much present in the UK. In the week up to October 14, there were 12,123 new cases of Covid reported in England. The worst-hit area is Great Yarmouth, which has been dubbed as the current Covid hotspot, where 54.4 new cases have been reported for every 100,000 people.

Great Yarmouth is then followed by Chesterfield with 49.6 new cases per 100,000 people. With 45.1 new cases per 100,000 people, there is Scarborough, followed by Isle of Wight (44.3), and Fylde (43.1).

Read more:

⋙ Covid-19: Health expert reveals they are looking out for 'severity' signs in latest Pirola variant

⋙ COVID variant Pirola: Watch out for these unusual symptoms

⋙ Covid-19: This is what it’s really like to have the virus in 2023

Sources used:

Times Now: ‘Coronavirus: New Dominant COVID HV.1 Variant; All You Need To Know About It’

Express: ‘Covid news LIVE: Professor warns new variant HV.1 highly transmissible’