At present, experts say BA.2.86 will still need to show it can outcompete other fast-spreading descendants of the XBB Omicron variant already on the rise around the world in order to be more than a “scientific curiosity,” CBS news reported.

Meanwhile, another XBB descendant – EG.5 or Eris – has already climbed to nearly 1 in 5 cases in the US, as of CDC estimates published earlier this month. According to the US CDC, BA.2.86 will remain aggregated with its distant parent, the Omicron variant known as BA.2, until it reaches 1% prevalence in its weighted estimates.