Handful of cases from Israel, Denmark, U.S., U.K.; none yet in Canada A highly mutated variant of the virus behind COVID-19 has popped up in multiple countries, but scientists aren’t yet sure whether it will help fuel a fall wave of infections or simply fizzle out. BA.2.86 was deemed a variant under monitoring by the World Health Organization on Aug. 17. Though only a handful of samples exist, its emergence across several continents since it was first identified in late July, coupled with its unusually high number of mutations, has put COVID watchersRead more