THE NEW COVID VARIANT- WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR AFRICA AND THE REST OF THE WORLD?

                                                          

...The people of Africa cannot be blamed for the immorally low level of vaccinations available and should not be penalized for sharing health information with the world.

-Antonio Guterres (UN Secretary-General)

In late 2019, the coronavirus epidemic hit the world tracing its roots from Wuhan, China.  It forced many countries into lockdown, slowing down many social and economic activities.  Individuals, organizations, and businesses resorted to communicating and transacting businesses online, shunning physical presence as we have been accustomed to. The virus kept spreading and the western world was seen as hotspots. Africa recorded the lowest cases. Months after months, preventive measures were put in place to avoid spread, travels were restricted, quarantine procedures were set up and then vaccines were introduced. Things were beginning to return to normal. Fast forward, new variants such as the Alpha, Beta, and Delta arose in some parts of the world. Currently, there is a third wave, specifically from South Africa. The threat of a third wave all seems familiar: border restrictions; travel restrictions; quarantine methods with their associated cost among others.  We may be wearing the masks for a very long time.

The new variant, known as Omicron by World Health Organization (WHO) seems to be very different from other mutations. Some scientists have described it as “horrific’ and “the worst” as it is heavily mutated. Prof Tulio de Oliveira of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation in South Africa says the new variant has 50 mutations with more than 30 on the spike protein. He further explained that the part of the virus that makes first contact with the cells of the body (receptor binding domain) holds 10 mutations as compared to 2 of that of the Delta variant. Judging from the degree of the mutation, it suggests that it could have been from a patient who was unable to recover. Although, said to be present in just one province of South Africa, there is a possibility it may have spread to other areas. It raises alarming questions of its resistance to the vaccine, its spread rate and how we can eradicate it. Coronavirus variants are as a result of an increase in cases- the more the cases, the higher the risk of mutations leading to new variants. Since it is different from the original virus from Wuhan, vaccines made to fight the strain may not work on the new strain. More studies and monitoring will have to be conducted to ascertain the risks of Omicron.

As it stands now, 77 cases have been recorded in Guateng, South Africa; 4 in Bostwana; 1 in Hong Kong; and suspected cases in Israel, and Belgium. Recently, Nigeria, Ghana and the United States have recorded cases involving the new mutation. In subsequent days and months, it will not be surprising to find more cases in other countries. We can only hope that scientists find ways to curb this menace in time.

Africa, the lowest hit by COVID-19 since its emergence, may just experience some form of restrictions in movement to other countries. The President of African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has added his voice to the ongoing new variant discourse. He urged the world not to label and penalize Africa for COVID-19 mutations happening elsewhere in the world. He called for global justice, equity and fairness in vaccine accessibility. The vaccine, he sated has underserved Africa. Nonetheless, it is not certain if the vaccine can even fight against Omicron due to the degree of the mutation. The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres in an address to the media. He expressed how deeply concerned he is about the isolation of Southern African after some countries imposed travel restrictions when they announced the detection of the new Omicron variant of COVID-19. He appealed to these governments to put in effective measures that include testing travellers repeatedly to subside the fear of transmission. The South African should rather be lauded for drawing the attention of other governments to the new variant and not isolated. This can cause states with any future happenings as such from stepping out and doing the right thing.

As Africans, on the other hand, the time to take charge of our own affairs is long overdue. It calls for the perfect time to reignite the discourse on setting up manufacturing plants for its vaccines. We must establish security defence system and limit our dependence on the West to solve issues that concerns all. The emergence of COVID-19 brought to light the limitations we face as a continent and our struggle with limited vaccines. Developed countries, the most affected by the coronavirus pandemic took charge in developing vaccines, administered them to their citizens and ordered boosters while developing countries struggled to get these vaccines to their populace. This is not the first time we have been unable to combat a myriad of diseases plaguing the continent without assistance from the West and other International bodies. Most vaccines were administered through bilateral agreements or the Coronavirus Vaccine Global Access (COAX) facility whose aim is to cater for 20% of the population in low and middle income states by providing vaccines. Our reliance on these bodies will affect future events of this nature if we do not improve our capacity to handle them.

Worldwide, the uncertainty of Omicron still hangs over us until such a time when scientist can give us a deeper insight into the new variant. If the pandemic has taught us anything it is to be on guard at all times to device ways to combat the virus whether we have all the answers or not.