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In the next few weeks, as laboratory work progresses , South Africans should get a clearer picture of its new Covid-19 variant, says Professor Tulio de Oliveira, director of the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP). KRISP coordinates the genetic research into the virus in South Africa. He warns that the new variant – called 501.V2 – is now clearly driving the surge in cases in South Africa, which is threatening to engulf its healthcare infrastructure. Over the past nine days, more than 100 000 new Covid cases have been confirmed, with more than 200 people ...

SA's Covid variant: How much more contagious it may be, and what it could mean for vaccines  Dec 28, 2020, 02:45 PM facebook An illustration of Covid-19. (Getty) SA's new Covid-19 variant is still being analysed, but one of SA's top genetic scientists expects it to be between 40% to 70% more transmissible.   Some of its unique mutations could also force vaccine producers to update their jabs.  Scientists now think variants could originate in people with very weak immune systems due to illnesses like cancer. For more articles, go to In the next few weeks, as�...

WARNING: Andy Slattery A SENIOR police officer has urged people to comply with Covid restrictions over Christmas but said authorities would not ‘knocking on doors’ to enforce the rules. Cumbria’s Assistant Chief Constable Andy Slattery stressed the importance of following the rules in the face of the new, more infectious strain of coronavirus. Under the latest restrictions, people in Cumbria will be allowed to join a bubble of up to three households on Christmas Day. Existing Tier 2 restrictions prohibit Cumbrians from meeting other households indoors. And ACC Slattery emphas...

Disease outbreak news: SARS-CoV-2 Variant – United Kingdom (21 December 2020) Format On 14 December 2020, authorities of the United Kingdom (UK) reported to WHO that a new SARS-CoV-2 variant was identified through viral genomic sequencing. This variant is referred to as SARS-CoV-2 VUI 202012/01 (Variant Under Investigation, year 2020, month 12, variant 01). Initial analysis indicates that the variant may spread more readily between people. Investigations are ongoing to determine if this variant is associated with any changes in the severity of symptoms, antibody response or vaccine efficacy...

Prof. Ravindra Gupta of Cambridge University, one of the top scientists working on the worrying new mutant strain of the coronavirus, has said: “This virus is potentially on a pathway for vaccine escape, it has taken the first couple of steps towards that.” The BBC, to whom Gupta gave an interview, explained: “Vaccine escape happens when the virus changes so it dodges the full effect of the vaccine and continues to infect people. This may be the most concerning element of what is happening with the virus. This variant is just the latest to show the virus is continuing to adapt as it inf...