Cases of the COVID-19 variant Omicron BA.2.86, also known as Pirola, have tripled in two weeks, comprising between 5% and 15% of all infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The COVID-19 variant Omicron BA.2.86 — as well as its offshoots, including JN.1 — has been reclassified as a "variant of