New COVID-19 variant detected in 28 countries as National Government says: “We’ll get back to you”.
It is alleged that the scientists have been working without the consent of their donors, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Things may well change, but for now, Dr Angelique Coetzee says there seem to be no serious symptoms being presented by patients with the Omicron variant.
President Ramaphosa said during his address last night that government has “set up a task team that will undertake broad consultations on making vaccination mandatory for specific activities and locations”.
The UK’s “kneejerk” reaction to the detection of the Omicron COVID-19 variant in South African labs has caused chaos for those wanting to travel this holiday season.
Since the detection of a new COVID-19 variant in South Africa, various countries have put travel restrictions in place.
South Africa recorded 21 584 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, due in large part to the highly transmissible nature of the Delta variant.
The AstraZeneca vaccine, expected to last until the middle of the year, will expire by April, and to add to the bad news, it might not be that effective against the 501Y.V2 variant.
The COVID-19 variant 501Y.V2, to give it its proper name, is now best known around the world as ‘the South African variant’. That really upsets Prof Salim Abdool Karim.
The COVID-19 variant, 501.V2, first identified in South Africa and carrying a mutation called E484K or the “escape mutation”, has arrived in the US.