South african variant

For residents of six London boroughs, as well as those in Smethwick in the West Midlands, the partial relaxation of lockdown rules this week hasn’t quite gone according to plan. They’ve had a day out in the sun, alright, but not necessarily sitting enjoying food and drinks in a pub garden – more likely they have been standing in a long queue to get ‘surge tested’ for the South African variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes Covid-19. So how much of a threat is the South African variant? In spite of anecdotal claims from South Africa that the new variant was affecting younger people, there is no evidence that

Although there’s plenty of positive vaccine news to go around, the latest government press conference offered a sobering reminder of the obstacles that remain when it comes to ensuring a successful vaccination programme. The Health Secretary said that despite recent efforts to prevent new arrivals to the UK bringing in the South African variant, random check found 11 cases that could not be linked to international travel. This means there has been community transmission.  While Hancock said there was ‘currently no evidence’ to suggest this variant is more severe, its emergence is of concern across government. The reason? The effect of vaccines on the new strain. Early data from two new coronavirus vaccine