organization is a variant called ba.2.86. what is unusual about this variant, it is highly mutated. it contains about 30 mutations in the spike protein which is what our vaccines recognize. and it has scientists worrying that either our native immunity from a prayer infection or the immunity garnered from a prior vaccination may not respond to this variant. we don t know yet how transmissible it is. we don t know if it will become a prominent strain. the number of mutation that s are concerned within this new variant really has the attention of people around the world. it sound like we need to be on high alert here in the coming weeks. stay tuned. all right. it s great to see you as always. i hope i m not seeing you every week as we used to. i feel the same way. we ll do it on a personal basis. thank you. this week s cnn hero has
form of the coronavirus, threatens to be the most adept yet at beating the antibodies many of us now have. this new strain, it is called ba 2.86, it is called ba .2.86, is suddenly catching the attention of virologists worldwide. it is not widespread. there s only about a dozen cases of it worldwide, and only three in the united states, but experts say it will require intense monitoring which many of its they stress it is not going to cause some devastating wave or make people any sicker than the early mutations. nonetheless it s one that needs to be watched, why7 nonetheless it s one that needs to be watched, why? be watched, why? variant under monitoring. be watched, why? variant under monitoring, that s be watched, why? variant under monitoring, that s different - be watched, why? variant under monitoring, that s different and | monitoring, that s different and distinct from a variant under concern. to be given a greek letter it needs to be increasing and associated with more s
most recent week of data from the cdc. so there is a lot of covid going around. what else is floating around? reporter: there are other respiratory viruses going around right now. some of the more common cold viruses like rhino viruses are pretty common, as well, and we are about to get into rsv and flu season. you should be on the lookout for those things. in terms of covid, this ba.2.86 is this emerging variant that has authorities on alert because it has a lot of mutation that s folks worry about. as of now only ten cases have been found worldwide. there s no evidence yet it causes more severe disease. and tests and medications like paxlovid should work against it. but the concern is because it s so highly mutated it could evade our existing immunities from infection or vaccines and cause more infections. we re waiting to see more data on that. all right. we ll keep an eye out for more data there. thank you so much for monitoring this for us. jim? ahead, refusing to resign.
dr. gary lester, how many people actually finance them. he says half of them. couple of years ago could have financed three percent, thousand looking at 6 percent. people and we are going to talk to some in a couple of minutes. people are cutting back on certain things. that is why they are here for the free breakfast and beer. [laughter] i digress. brian: the 30-year fixed loan, september 2021 it was 2.86, now 6.02. we don t know how the banks are going to react. it is pain we have to endure because all the pandemic spending from supply chain to president s policies. in terms of nuts and bolts. winter heating costs 17.2%.
carley: we are back with your headlines, poorlgd residents with disabilities are suing the city other tense blocking sidewalks. accused portland of violating the americans with disabilities act requiring accessible sidewalks. they are calling for all paths to be cleared and demand emergency shelters for the displaced. mortgage rates soaring to their highest level in 14 years now at 5.89 % enforcement the spike is pushing more home buyers market and raising average monthly payments for a median priced home 60% from just one year ago. mortgage rates at 2.86% a year ago. and the higher borrowing costs have sunk home sale volumes. twitter has taken down this controversial tweet from a critical race theory professor after word got out about queen elizabeth s failing health. the professor writing i heard the chief monarch seething