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Dubbed "Pirola" by variant trackers, the strain is different enough from other Omicron to potentially warrant a Greek letter from the WHO, experts say.
BA.6: New Covid Variant Branded The 'Real Deal' Could Already Be In Britain
Booster jabs will be offered to millions of over-65s, NHS workers and anyone deemed high-risk in the UK. But this year's top-up campaign, set to begin in October, has been massively scaled back.
With only three cases sequenced globally, it hasn't been given an official name - although some are referring to it as BA.6 or the 'Pi' variant.
The Omicron spin-off - given the placeholder name as BA.X but yet to be officially named - has been categorised as a 'currently circulating variant under monitoring' by the UN health agency.