In an ideal world, McSpicys would treat food poisoning and there’d only be one COVID-19 strain.
But because life loves to kick us when we’re down, the coronavirus has constantly been mutating since it emerged early last year.
Some COVID-19 variants are harmless, while others are concerning due to their increased transmissibility.
Recently, yet another new strain was discovered, and this time, it was in South Africa.
Everything About The New COVID-19 Variant Found in South Africa
Called the C12 variant, the strain is concerning the authorities in South Africa as it has a high number of mutations.
These mutations are not only believed to be more contagious, but may have the ability to evade antibodies as well.
Well, that’s exactly what we need now, thanks, Life.
The findings were published by South African scientists in a research paper.
First discovered in May this year, C12 evolved from C1, the first variant that caused outbreaks in South Africa last year.
It emerged in the South African provinces of Mpumalanga and Gauteng, where Johannesburg is, and later spread to seven other countries in Africa, Oceania, Asia, and Europe.
To know more about why the coronavirus mutates, watch this video to the end:
Third Wave Gradually Easing
Since May this year, COVID-19 infections in South Africa have rapidly increased, triggering the country’s third wave of the pandemic.
Since July, however, infections have gradually dwindled.
Yesterday, 7,084 new infections were reported in the country.
Vaccination Progress
So far, South Africa has administered at least 12,289,478 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, which amounts to around 10% of the population.
At the moment, the country is using the vaccines developed by Johnson and Johnson and Pfizer-BioNTech.
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It also received supplies of the Oxford-AstraZeneca but suspended its use due to its supposed ineffectiveness against the Beta variant.
It recently approved China’s Sinovac vaccine as well – 2.5 million vaccines will be delivered to the country, though it’s unclear when.
2 million doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine previously had to be destroyed, because they were found to be contaminated. The authorities assured residents that no contaminated vaccines were used.
Currently, vaccinations are open only to people aged 35 and older. But from 1 Sept, anyone aged 18 years or above can get a jab.
80% of South Africans May Have Had COVID-19
Based on the country’s fatality rate, it’s believed that 80% of South Africans may have been infected with COVID-19 at some point.
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South Africa is the hardest-hit country in Africa, with over 2.77 million cases in total.
Over 82,000 people have also died from the disease.
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Featured Image: Andrii Vodolazhskyi / Shutterstock.com
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