The spread is still “very low”, but in view of the high mutation rate, scientists still have a special eye on the corona variant referred to as C.1.2. SPD health expert Lauterbach warned to provide Africa with vaccine.
Scientists in South Africa are currently working on a new corona variant with an unusually high mutation rate. The spread of the variant designated as C.1.2 has increased slightly in recent months, said the South African Institute for Infectious Diseases (NICD) on Monday. C.1.2 was therefore detected in all nine South African provinces. The variant has also been identified in China, Mauritius, New Zealand and Great Britain.
The NICD scientist Penny Moore emphasized that the prevalence of C.1.2 is still “very low”. Predictions as to whether the existing corona vaccines were also effective against this variant could therefore not yet be made. However, she is “confident that the vaccines used in South Africa will continue to protect us against serious illness and death.”
Lauterbach: “Must give Africa vaccine”
The SPD health politician Karl Lauterbach wrote on Twitter with a view to C.1.2 of a “potentially very dangerous” Corona variant. But whether it is more dangerous than the delta variant that is currently rampant around the world is still unclear. The occurrence of C.1.2 shows: “We have to give Africa vaccine,” warned Lauterbach.
South Africa is the country on the African continent hardest hit by the corona pandemic. More than 2.7 million cases of corona infection have been registered in the country since the beginning of the pandemic. At least 81,830 people died in connection with Covid-19.
