[Humans Are Free]: Scientists in South Africa have identified a new variant that “has all of the signatures of immune escape” and very well could be the source of the next variant-driven wave of COVID cases around the world.
The variant, known a C.1.2 – it isn’t important enough yet to deserve a Greek-letter shorthand – was first identified in May in the provinces of Mpumalanga and Gauteng, where Johannesburg and SA’s capital, Pretoria, are located. As of Aug. 13, the variant has been found in six of South Africa’s nine provinces as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritius, Portugal and Switzerland. Even New Zealand has reported a case of the variant in its most recent outbreak
The most concerning thing about the new variant is that it possesses certain traits that might be “associated with increased transmissibility” and an increased ability to evade antibodies, the scientists said. “It is important to highlight this lineage given its concerning constellation of mutations.”
C.1.2. evolved from C.1., a lineage of the virus that dominated infections in the first wave of the virus in South Africa in mid-2020. It has between 44 and 59 mutations from the original virus detected in Wuhan in China, which is a surprisingly large number indicating advanced mutation....<<<Read More>>>...
