The world today awoke to news that yet another new variant of the coronavirus has emerged, and one that is rumored to be the most dangerous one yet.
Currently known as B.1.1.529, this new Covid-19 variant was first detected in South Africa, but there have also been cases with the same mutations confirmed in Botswana and even as far as Israel and Hong Kong.
There have been about 100 cases of the new variant confirmed but the scientific community is already on high alert. The reason for this is that the R value for this variant is 2, meaning that one person carrying the virus can infect two other people. The previous variants we have had in circulation had a lower R value, even Delta.
In addition, B.1.1.529 has a lot of complex mutations that drastically set it apart from the original coronavirus that first appeared in Wuhan, China. This is a problem because most vaccines that we currently use, and the ones the already-vaccinated population has, are based on the original variant.
With so many mutations, it is unclear how effective these vaccines will be against B.1.1.529. Immunologists are certain that their protection is definitely lower against the new variant.
The stats of this strain of Covid-19 are so scary that many countries are already on high alert, even though there have only been 100 cases or so. The European Union and the United Kingdom are both intending to impose complete travel bans on at least six African countries.
Moreover, the World Health Organization is set to speak with medical authorities from South Africa today to find out more about B.1.1.529. It might issue its own recommendations after it gets the full picture on the new variant.
The news of a new, dangerous Covid-19 variant couldn’t have come in a more inopportune moment. Daily worldwide infections are on the rise at the moment, with numbers akin to what we saw this September.
The situation is especially pressing in Germany, which was the country with the most cases yesterday (76,132). This number is the all-time daily highest for Germany, and marks the second day in a row of confirming more than 70,000 cases per day.
Other European countries such as the Netherlands, France, Belgium, and more are also seeing very high infection rates. At this point, lockdowns for Christmas in the EU seem inevitable.
