A new Covid variant, “Pirola,” has been spreading and has already been found in several countries including the United States, United Kingdom, India and Canada. Current vaccinations will most likely be ineffective since this new variant has a lot of mutations. At this moment, Pirola has more mutations to the point there are more than the infamous Omicron variant, which was prominent in 2021. It is not yet known if Pirola is more severe than other variants. There is a higher chance of Pirola infecting vaccinated people than other strands because of the new mutations.
Symptoms for this variant are similar to cold and flu symptoms. These include coughing, fatigue, head and body aches, rashes and difficulty breathing. Just in Canada alone, 30 people have been reported dead from this virus as of August 29th. The American Center for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that medication used to treat Covid-19 has been effective with the Pirola variant. There have been speculations from the public over a chance of another lockdown happening, which is unlikely.
Ways to prevent Covid have not changed. Steps to prevent this are to stay home if sick, wear a high quality mask covering the nose and mouth and practice proper hygiene such as hand washing. Make sure to keep up with the current news about Covid-19 and to stay protected.