Thread by @miamalan

[Thread] 1. To which #African countries have the new #COVID virus variants 1st identified in SA (501Y.V2/#B1351) + the UK (#B117) spread? To 21 countries so far — 8 have both variants. @bhekisisa_MG has created this map in collaboration with @mediahackza and Africa Data Hub.

2. The #501YV2 variant first identified in SA has spread to almost all Southern African countries. But the #B117 variant first identified in the UK, has now also been detected in South Africa — and so has a new variant first identified in Uganda. bit.ly/3bFqN0x

3. What are the implications of variants spreading? #B117 and #501YV2 spread faster than the original form of #SARSCoV2 (the virus the causes #COVID) because they’re more transmissible. That means more hospitalisations + deaths — because there are so many more #COVID cases.

4. There are also implications for #CovidVaccines. Clinical trials for the J&J, Novavax + AstraZeneca jabs have shown that the shots are less effective against #501YV2 than against the original form of #SARSCoV2 (this mostly pertains to less severe forms of #COVID).

5. Because a small study showed that the AstraZeneca jab only provides 10% protection against mild/moderate #COVID caused by #501YV2, SA decided not to use the jab (we don’t yet know what protection it provides against severe COVID caused by 501Y.V2). bit.ly/38A6vUe

6. Vaccine manufacturers like Moderna, Pfizer + AstraZeneca are now looking at testing if booster shots/adjusted forms of their jabs will work better against new variants. Moderna has already started to test out their booster shot on a group of 60 people. bit.ly/38v8l8Q

7. Recent SA research by @AfricaGenomics revealed something surprising: the antibodies our bodies produce to fight off #501YV2 also provide protection against some other new variants, such as the P.1 variant first identified in Brazil.

8. This could potentially mean that scientists will be able to develop a jab that protects against #501YV2, as well as against some other variants. But we'll only know if this will work once such as jab has been tested in clinical trials. bit.ly/3bvRV2a

9. Meanwhile, it’s NB to keep wearing a mask/social distance/wash your hands. Why? We haven’t nearly vaccinated everyone. The more chances the virus has to make copies of itself (so the faster it spreads), the higher the chances are that it will change + produce new variants.