Pirola is a newly designated, highly mutating variant of Omicron, a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It was first detected in Denmark in July 2023 and has since been found in several countries. The name Pirola was suggested by a scientist and infectious disease modeller on Twitter, who made a compound word from Pi and Rho, which follow Omicron in the Greek alphabet. Pirola has more than 30 mutations to its spike protein compared to other variants of Omicron, which is a point of concern. However, it is still too early to know if this strain is any more transmissible or severe than other ones. Symptoms of Pirola are not unique, and there is no evidence that it causes different symptoms than other COVID-19 variants.