The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 lineages derived from Omicron, including BA.2.86 (nicknamed “Pirola”) and its relative, JN.1, has raised concerns about their potential impact on public and personal health due to numerous novel mutations. Despite this, predicting their implications based solely on mutation counts proves challenging. Empirical evidence of JN.1’s increased immune evasion capacity in relation to previous variants is mixed.