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Look, we all knew that the COVID-19 pandemic would never be OVER over, but a new strain in 2023 that’s resulting in a new uptick in cases just feels like a kick to the ribs while we’re down.

When I saw the name ‘Eris’ I thought it was a new Gen-Z baby name, but unfortunately, it’s a novel strain of the Covid-19 virus that has captured the attention of the global health community, earning the classification of a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization (WHO).

This new variant, designated as EG.5 or “Eris,” shares a lineage with the Omicron subvariant known as XBB.1.9.2 and has started popping up in various countries, including the UK, China and the US.

We can however breathe a sigh of relief as WHO notes that, while the variant displays traits such as heightened prevalence, growth advantages and immune evasion properties, there is no reported escalation in disease severity to date.

So don’t go rushing up to stock up on toilet paper and beans, mense.

That being said, Prof Stephen Griffin, a virologist at the University of Leeds, emphasised that the variant’s infectiousness and its evasion of antibodies could trigger a swift increase in cases as schools resume and people return to work and university after the summer break in the UK.

The cyclical nature of evolving variants is not a new phenomenon, as Prof John Edmunds from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine points out. Edmunds also added that, “Successive waves of Omicron sub-variants has been the pattern for the last 18 months now,” so it seems like nothing is out-of-the-ordinary in terms of offshoot variants like Eris.

The data speaks for itself though, as the the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recently reported that EG.5, specifically the sub-variant EG5.1, accounts for approximately 15% of sequenced COVID-19 cases.

New COVID variant ‘Eris’ spreading rapidly in UK. pic.twitter.com/Rco4ft9eHH

— DailyMirror (@Dailymirror_SL) August 7, 2023

While some people are adamant that unvaxxed is the way to go, deputy director of UKHSA, Dr Meera Chand, has emphasised that the best way to keep up with the ever-developing COVID-19 virus is to get jabbed.

“Vaccination remains our best defence against future Covid-19 waves, so it is still as important as ever that people come take up all the doses for which they are eligible as soon as possible.”

At this point, we have to leave it up to the scientists who are no stranger to staring into microscopes at teeny little diseases.

And please, don’t name your child “Eris”.

[source:theguardian]