British Columbia (BC) Health Commissioner Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix announced on August 29 that Canada’s first case of novel coronavirus variant BA.2.86 has been found in BC.
BA.2.86 is a new Omicron variant found in Denmark in July 2023. It is now found all over the world, including the United States.
The World Health Organization (WHO) puts BA.2.86 under surveillance due to its high mutation rate. A BC government statement said BA.2.86 was found in the Fraser Health area. The infected person has not travelled outside of BC and has not been hospitalized. In addition, the arrival of BA.2.86 in Canada and British Columbia is within expectations, and as the new coronavirus continues to spread around the world, the risk to British Columbians remains unchanged and the best preventative measure is vaccination.
In Canada, a new vaccine targeting Omicron is awaited. According to a report in the CBC online edition, Health Canada is currently reviewing new mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, which are expected to be introduced this fall.
The company is also considering new products other than the mRNA vaccine being developed by Novavax but expects to introduce them around the end of this year.