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covid 19 variantslatest news & developments
A health worker screens a resident at Diepsloot Covid-19 screening and testing site at Diepsloot Sarafina Park on May 08, 2020 in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is reported that more than 12 000 people have been screened and over 1000 people tested in Diepsloot. The Premier urged the people of Diepsloot to continue practicing safety measures including social distancing and wearing cloth masks when leaving home. (Photo by Sharon Seretlo/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
ANTIBODIES

Covid-19 in South Africa: Which approach should we take now?

The trick to tackling Covid-19 at this stage is to be adaptive. The government’s one-size-fits-all approach is broken; we need to be more flexible. But we should not throw away…

  • Philip Machanick
12 min read
Citizens receive Covid-19 vaccine at the Gautrain Sandton Station pop-up vaccination site on September 10, 2021 in Johannesburg, South Africa. According to reports Gauteng health department has instituted Covid-19 pop-up vaccination sites to meet the demand and to reach as many people as possible. (Photo by Sharon Seretlo/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
COVID 19

Covid-19 vaccines still protect against severe illness from the Omicron variant

The vast majority of hospital admissions in Gauteng are of unvaccinated people, data from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases shows

  • Eunice Masson
3 min read
The US and South African medicines regulators have faced legal challenges regarding information used to review and approve Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. (Guillem Sartorio/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
BOITUMELO SEMETE MAKOKOKETLA

South Africa not yet at risk from newly emerged ‘Delta Plus’ mutation, say scientists

Scientists are collecting information on the new Delta Plus Covid-19 mutation, a sublineage of the Delta variant that is causing infections to rise globally

  • Eunice Masson
2 min read
The US and South African medicines regulators have faced legal challenges regarding information used to review and approve Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. (Guillem Sartorio/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
ADJUSTED LEVEL FOUR LOCKDOWN

Rise of the variants: What you need to know about the Delta variant in SA

SA’s lockdown regulations are tightening to better curb the spread of Covid-19, amid concerns that the Delta variant could drive a surge of infections

  • Aisha Abdool Karim
13 min read
Covid-19 patients arrive to the Wakefield Campus of the Montefiore Medical Center on April 06, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. A specialised bus known as a Medical Evacuation Transport Unit (METU), carries patients on stretchers and benches. The patient transfers are designed to help overwhelmed hospitals even out caseloads in Westchester County and New York City at the epicentre of the US coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
AFRICA HEALTH RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Three for three: Understanding the Covid-19 variants circulating during South Africa’s third wave

Which variants have been detected in SA and how do they differ? Each form of the virus behaves slightly differently and could affect what the pandemic looks like. We break it down.

  • Aisha Abdool Karim
13 min read
Research also shows that violent conflict drops by up to 37% when girls and boys have equal access to education. (Photo by Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images)
CORONAVIRUS

As the Covid-19 third-wave hits, how many South Africans have had the virus already?

Increasing seroprevalence in South Africa could help curb the disastrous effects a third wave could have on communities. But no one is out of the woods yet

  • Chris Bateman
5 min read