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A new COVID-19 variant is circulating and KC area doctors have information on what to expect with latest version of the virus.
Eris is the name of the new variant and it's become the dominant strain of the virus over the summer.
Experts say it's very similar to the Omicron variant.
"Is there a fundamental change in the actual disease the virus causes? At this point, it doesn't seem like there is and that's good news for everyone," said Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control for the University of Kansas Health System.
The new variant may be a bit more transmissible and a little harder for a booster shot to fight off.
“It can evade some of our antibodies more readily than some of the other variants, but we’ve seen that all of the variants that have really come out since Omicron have been able to evade the antibodies," Hawkinson said.
The booster for Eris is expected to be tweeked to be a bit different from other boosters.
"Symptoms really tend to be similar," said Dr. Sarah Boyd, an infectious disease physician at Saint Luke's Health System. "It's anticipated that they will have sort of an adjusted booster."
They encourage people to take this strain seriously even if it may not be as deadly as older variants.
"We can't be myopic to just how we are feeling, how we are doing," Hawkinson said. "We have to understand that there are populations out there that are more at risk of severe disease and death as well," Hawkinson said.
