On Thursday, 25th November 2021, a new strain of covid-19 has been reported to be spreading very fast in South Africa. Scientist has named it as B1.1.529 and is showing similarities to lambda and beta variants of covid-19. This variant is having very unusual mutations within the spike protein. More than 30 mutations were found in spike protein only and the place where it will enter the human cells that is ACE-2 receptor , this variant has 10 mutations when compared to Beta having 3 and Delta variant has 2 mutations as reported by Tulio de Oliveria, the director of KwaZulu-Natal Research and Innovation Sequencing Platform.
How well the vaccines can protect host from this variant is still unclear. As per Dr. Joe Pahaala, South Africa minister of health, this new variant is affecting more young people who are non-vaccinated between age 18 to 34 . This variant has not only enhanced its transmissibility and spreading but also has shown attacking the immune response too.
