C.1.2: New Covid19 Variant Will Not Impact Vaccine Efficacy, Say Experts

• Reports have revealed that vaccine efficacy will not be impacted by the new Covid-19 variant, dubbed C.1.2
• According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, the vaccine should be able to prevent severe infections and death
• The NICD held a media briefing where scientists made sure to not alarm members of the public and to reassure them that the C.1.2 will have a close eye kept on it

The C.1.2 Covid-19 variant is reportedly unlikely to stop current Covid-19 vaccines from preventing severe infections or death. The news comes from scientists working at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).

The NICD reportedly held a media briefing on Thursday evening to ensure members of the public that they are keeping a close eye on the C.1.2 variant.

The NICD, according to TimesLIVE, revealed that there was cause to believe that the new variant will derange the efficacy of both the Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer vaccines. These are the two Covid-19 vaccines that are being administered in South Africa.

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Professor Penny Moore from the NICD stated that the public's curiosity about the new variant and the vaccines was understandable. She added that there was hardly any reason for worry at this time.

eNCA reported that the coronavirus is mutating at a fast rate and the vaccines being rolled out within SA are enough, at this time, to fight against the new variants.

South Africa detects possible new Covid19 variant known as C.1.2

Earlier, Briefly News reported that recent research has suggested that South Africa could soon face a new variant of Covid-19. The Health Department has reportedly informed the World Health Organization (WHO) of the matter.

A report by EWN stated that the new variant is being referred to as C.1.2 lineage. It was identified by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) along with the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform.

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The report continued by explaining that most of the C.1.2 lineage sequences from across the globe are from SA. The new variant was first found in Mpumalanga and then in Gauteng in May of this year.

A study says that Covid-19 is not a respiratory disease but a vascular disease

Previously, Briefly News reported that the notion that coronavirus is a respiratory disease has been contested by a study published by the University of California San Diego.

The study states that the symptoms associated with Covid-19 much rather reflect a vascular disease as opposed to a respiratory one, according to IOL. The study also states that specific issues experienced by Covid-19 patients, such as blood clots and in some cases strokes, are not in line with respiratory disease.

The research was published in the Circulation Research journal and showed that a team of scientists found the coronavirus attacked the circulatory system or the vascular system.

Source: Briefly News