Stratus, a new COVID-19 variant (also called XFG or XFG.3), is spreading rapidly in the UK as well as in a number of other countries. The UK Health Security Agency recently reported that Stratus became responsible for approximately 30% of new COVID cases in England, which is a rapid rise in only a few weeks.
The strain has been detected in at least 38 countries. Stratus was part of nearly a quarter of recent COVID samples sequencing globally. Experts say the rapid spread is likely a result of the changing virus's spike protein that could help it escape some existing immunity.
Nonetheless, health officials, including those from the World Health Organization (WHO), are saying that there is currently no evidence that Stratus is causing more serious illness. It may be more transmissible, but Stratus has not been tied to increased hospitalisation or mortality rates. WHO appropriately characterises Stratus with their term "variant under monitoring," which currently presents low public health risk.
The symptoms of Stratus mimic those of other recent variations of COVID, and the common symptoms are sore throat, fatigue, sneezing, and runny nose. Loss of taste or smell is reported less than earlier variations. Because Stratus does appear to easily spread, experts are advising people to be vigilant and settle into a "public health mindset" again, following basic public health protocols such as masking in crowded spaces and testing when symptomatic.
Although there is concern about the speed at which Stratus is spreading, experts agree that vaccines still provide good protection. Research shows that the antibodies produced by the current COVID vaccines are slightly less effective at blocking infection with this variant than previous variants. However, the drop in immunity is small, and vaccinated persons are still well protected from serious illness and hospitalisation.
In laboratory studies, there is approximately a two-fold reduction in the ability of vaccine antibodies to neutralise Stratus compared with previous variants. However, this is not an argument for the discontinuation of the vaccines, and both primary and booster doses, especially updated ones against recent strains such as JN.1 or KP.2, still offer excellent levels of protection.
The WHO has not yet suggested any changes to the current vaccines. They suggest that current monovalent vaccines are still appropriate to protect against Stratus.
Doctors and scientists are continuing to advocate that people stay current with boosters, as this will protect them as well as socio-technically contribute to the spread, and further evolution of the virus.
Image Source: BBC
