NEw COVID variant BA.2.86 detected that surpasses the XBB strains in virulence. W.H.O has designated it as a 'Variant under monitoring'.

 

(Image:  The original COVID strain. 2019)

I caught the XBB COVID variant at the end of 2022, please refer to these posts in relation to its severity.  Undoubtingly the vaccines, four at that point in time, assisted me from the infection developing into a prolonged illness.  However, the XBB fever was brutal.  Now in 2023 a newer COVID variant BA.2.86 variant has been detected that surpasses the Omicron lineage of mutation, coming in at 30+.  And in March of this year, Virologists meet with White House officials to discuss the possibility of a significant COVID mutation occurring within the next 2 years.  The consensus was of a 20% chance that a virulent mutation could occur.

But, it appears that the BA.2.86 could be that variant.   The World Health Organization has deemed this mutated COVID strain as a "Variant Under monitoring" or "VUM".