https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/john-campbell-covid-variant-risk-vaccinated/
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a risk assessment last week for a new SARS-CoV-2 variant, BA.2.86, saying it “may be more capable of causing infection in people who have previously had COVID-19 or who have received COVID-19 vaccines.”
Internet lecturer John Campbell, Ph.D., who analyzed the announcement in a video, said, “It’s not a dramatic new virus and it’s very unlikely that’s going to make people sicker.” Campbell is a retired emergency room nurse, nurse teacher and author of two nursing textbooks.
The CDC said the variant isn’t likely driving the current increase in hospitalizations in the U.S., and that existing COVID-19 medications appear to be effective for treating it.
The BA.2.86 variant, a derivative of Omicron, as of Aug. 23 was detected in a small number of cases in Denmark (the first case, identified in late July), Israel, South Africa, the U.S. and the U.K.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said there was “no known epidemiological link between the identified cases,” while the CDC stated the widely dispersed cases were “evidence of international transmission.”
According to the CDC, a U.S. wastewater sample collected as part of routine monitoring also indicated the presence of the variant.
Because few countries are testing with the same intensity as during the pandemic, Campbell said, it’s not surprising the variant would not pop up on the radar until it’s more widespread. “It’s probably been around for a while,” he added.