South African Variant

Bags packed, but nowhere to go: Passengers rush to leave South Africa as Omicron variant prompts travel bans

The European Union and other major destinations, including the United States and Canada, have moved to block flights from African countries following the discovery of the new COVID-19 variant

Narendra Modi to chair meet on COVID-19 situation with top government officials at 10.30 am

The prime minister’s meeting comes amid rising global concern about the B.1.1.529 strain of the coronavirus, now called 'Omicron'

Explained: Will flight restrictions help as new COVID-19 variant 'Omicron' emerges?

Some say at best the restrictions can buy time for new public health measures to be put in place. At worst, they do little to stop the spread and give a false sense of security.

WHO terms new COVID-19 variant as 'Omicron': ‘Variant of concern’ prompts global flight bans, forces WTO to defer meet

The global health agency said evidence on Omicron showed an increased risk of reinfection compared to other variants, indicating that people who contracted COVID-19 and recovered could be more subject to catching it again

Pfizer vaccine protects against COVID-19 strain predominant in India but is slightly less effective, finds study

People who received two Pfizer doses saw a three-fold reduction in their antibodies against the Indian variant.

South Africa's COVID-19 vaccine trials saved the world from another long year of surprises

the trial in South Africa underscored the need to stamp out the virus before it mutates further.

South African COVID-19 variant may provide better immunity against other mutations, finds small study

Coronavirus mutations have put a damper on global vaccination programmes after existing shots were found to offer less protection against them.

Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine synthesized for the South African variant is ready for testing

Either a South Africa variant-specific candidate could be used as a booster or a booster that combines the classic vaccine with the variant-specific will be created.

Around half the South African population may have had COVID-19, serosurvey indicates

The South African variant accounts for some 90 percent of the country's second wave of COVID-19 cases, scientists say.

AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doesn't work well against South Africa virus variant: Study

The developments, which came nearly a week after 1 million doses of the vaccine arrived in South Africa, were a huge setback for the country.