logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2023
4m 54s

COVID: BA.2.86 variant causes concern

NEWSTALK
About this episode

A new Covid variant, BA.2.86, is causing concern due to its potential increased transmissibility, while the Health Protection Surveillance Centre says that Eris is spreading quicker than other recent variants. We get the latest on Covid with Professor Paul Moynagh Head of the Department of Biology and Director of the Kathleen Lonsdale Institute for Human Health Research at Maynooth University.

Up next
Jul 5
Motoring with Geraldine Herbert
The 262 registration period has begun and there is a lot of activity in the car-buying market. New car registrations are falling, EV sales are booming and the number of used imports is soaring. Joining Pat to make sense of it all is Sunday Independent motoring editor, Geraldine H ... Show More
8m 50s
Jul 5
Pat's Sunday Paper Review July 5th
Joining Pat to run through the main stories in the Sunday papers is Brenda Power, Columnist with The Irish Independent & The Daily Mail 
15m 53s
Jul 5
“Every international legal norm has been violated by the actions of the Israeli authorities”
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory released its report on June 23, 2026, titled "The essence of childhood has been destroyed: Israel's deliberate targeting of Palestinian children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory sinc ... Show More
19m 51s
Recommended Episodes
May 2020
Is the Virus Getting Worse?
Last week, researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory released alarming news: At least one variant of the virus that causes Covid-19 had significantly mutated to become more contagious. If true, this would have major implications. A new variant could, for example, hamper e ... Show More
12m 37s
Jan 2021
When the Virus Mutates
New variants of the coronavirus are circulating around the globe and causing some concern among experts. One in particular, variant B.1.1.7, has been found to more easily spread from one person to another.  This new variant has already been identified in several states in the US. ... Show More
17m 29s
Sep 2023
How Bad Could BA.2.86 Get?
All of a sudden it seems like everyone knows someone who has tested positive for COVID. Are we back in a wave? How bad could it get? How effective will the new vaccine be? What do we actually know about COVID now that we didn’t before, and will it protect us? We talk to Atlantic ... Show More
28m 20s
Mar 2021
The Science of Beating Variants
Fast-moving variants of the coronavirus seen in England, South Africa and Brazil have sparked concern around the world. Researchers worry some may diminish the potency of existing vaccines and complicate efforts to escape the pandemic. As COVID-19 cases started to climb in early ... Show More
12m 47s
Mar 2021
Covid mutants: What are the risks?
A year into the Covid crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week announced her country was facing what amounts to ‘a new pandemic’. “The mutation from Great Britain has taken over,” she warned. “It is clearly more lethal, more contagious, and contagious longer.” Even in co ... Show More
49m 45s
Nov 2021
Can governments handle an ever-changing virus?
Countries are closing their borders and imposing travel restrictions in a race to contain the new Omicron Covid-19 variant. While little is known about it, there are fears it may be highly infectious and more resistant to vaccines. So, are governments prepared to deal with an eve ... Show More
24m 1s