NBC News reported on Fri. that U.S. public-health authorities are warning of a new covid strain that could pose a threat even if you were vaccinated or had covid-19. So far, NBC said, subvariant BA.2.86 has only been reported in about a dozen cases worldwide but appears to be more capable than omicron of causing infection. This comes just as an updated booster is about to be rolled out, NBC noted. It also comes just as the counteroffensive in Ukraine is being declared a disappointment. Czech Foreign Min. Jan Lipavský of the Pirates said in Právo today that the counteroffensive has unfortunately not achieved its goals. Political scientist Michal Klíma wrote in LN on Fri. that the covid pandemic in the CR ended almost overnight on Feb. 24, 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine. No one paid any more attention to the virus, he said. We're not making a prediction, but there would be a certain poetic justice if a sudden attack of a new covid variant took everyone's mind off the faltering war in Ukraine.