A highly-mutated coronavirus variant seems to only be spreading slowly so far
Scientists are keeping an eye on a coronavirus variant, known as C.1.2, that was first detected in South Africa in May because it has characteristics similar to other mutated forms of the virus that have become more transmissible. A study also found that it is further away from the original COVID-19 strain than any other variant. For now, though, researchers aren't panicking.
The World Health Organization on Tuesday said the variant "does not appear to be increasing in circulation," and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa said that while C.1.2 has been detected in all nine of the country's provinces (as well as a few other places around the world), it's only been detected at a low rate. Per Forbes, the variant made up just 1 percent of all sequenced cases in South Africa in June. That did rise to 3 percent in July, but the more famous Delta variant still appears to be quite dominant, accounting for 67 percent and 89 percent of South African infections in June and July, respectively.
In fact, Delta may be one of the things that prevents C.1.2 from becoming a greater concern. "C.1.2 would have to be pretty good, pretty fit, and pretty fast to outcompete Delta at this stage," Dr. Megan Steain, a virologist at the University of Sydney's Central Clinical School, told The Guardian. "I think we're still very much at a point where this could die out, the prevalence is really low."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Still, scientists and health agencies like the WHO will continue to monitor the variant. Read more at The Guardian and Forbes.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks ground
Speed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resigns
Speed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 23, 2024
Cartoons Tuesday's cartoons - Gen Z remonstrated, plastic recycling, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cow
Speed Read The virus has been spreading among cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and early
Speed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Covid four years on: have we got over the pandemic?
Today's Big Question Brits suffering from both lockdown nostalgia and collective trauma that refuses to go away
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
US bans final type of asbestos
Speed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The hollow classroom
Opinion Remote school let kids down. It will take much more than extra tutoring for kids to recover.
By Mark Gimein Published
-
Excess screen time is making children only see what is in front of them
Under the radar The future is looking blurry. And very nearsighted.
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Covid-19: what to know about UK's new Juno and Pirola variants
in depth Rapidly spreading new JN.1 strain is 'yet another reminder that the pandemic is far from over'
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Long-term respiratory illness is here to stay
The Explainer Covid is not the only disease with a long version
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published