England is gearing up for its fourth winter with Covid-19 by pulling forward its vaccination booster program by a month after the emergence of a new variant, dubbed Pirola. While little is known about this latest strain of a virus that is constantly mutating, the UK Health Security Agency decided to move its schedule forward preemptively to protect the most vulnerable from illness. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have already said they are keeping a close eye on the situation.

The prevalence of Pirola, officially known as BA.2.86, is still low but the variant is proving more adept at evading immunity from vaccines and past infections. That’s due to a large number of mutations on its spike protein, which helps the virus latch onto cells and cause infections. As immunity to Covid, either from earlier shots or actual infection, wanes over time it’s important to top up vaccinations. The earlier it’s done, the better the chance of avoiding a new wave of Covid infections.

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