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In South Africa angry: "Punished for discovering the new variant"

Experts have long warned that the epidemic could not be defeated if Western countries did not share the vaccines with poor countries and only 10% of the continent's population received at least one dose.

"We told you so," snapped a researcher from Johannesburg.

"Excellent science should be praised and not punished," the South African government said

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• South Africa

• Corona virus

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Sunday, 28 November 2021, 10:24

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In the video: Johnson announces steps to prevent the spread of the omicron variant in the country (Photo: Reuters)

Countries in South Africa are protesting the decisions of many countries to cut them off from international air traffic following the discovery of the new corona variant, Omicron.

The new strain was first discovered in Botswana and worried the world following a spike in the number of infected in South Africa.

Omicron's discovery, and the fear that it would harm the effectiveness of vaccines against the virus, renewed the discussion of inequality in the distribution of vaccines between rich and poor countries.

Many have warned in the past two years that the only way out of the epidemic, which has been going on for nearly two years, would be through mass vaccinations - not only in rich western countries, but also in developing countries.

Omicron, the most alarming corona strain since the discovery of the contagious delta earlier this year, has already been identified in several European countries, including Britain, Germany and Italy.

One by one, the countries of the world closed their gates to the citizens of South Africa and its neighbors, led by the United States, Britain, the European Union and Australia.

Israel went one step further, when it decided to stop the entry of all foreign nationals into the country for two weeks.

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Race against time.

Corona tests in Amsterdam, yesterday (Photo: Reuters)

In the Netherlands, 61 passengers who returned on two flights from South Africa have been found positive for Corona, and authorities are checking to see if they are infected with the new strain. Experts say that closing the borders at this stage will not be enough to stop the spread of the South African variant, so other measures must be taken - chiefly accelerating vaccine shipments to the continent, of which only a fraction of the population has completed the first two vaccine doses. However, Western countries, which have already accumulated vaccine doses for the whole year and have already started giving booster doses to their citizens, did not heed the warnings.

"We told you so," said Fransota Venter, a researcher at the University of Johannesburg, who commented on warnings from African experts that a delay in vaccinations could lead to the creation of new variants. "The feeling is that these rich countries have learned nothing in terms of the support they need to provide."

South Africa, fearing the collapse of the tourism industry that has not yet recovered from the previous waves of the plague, complained that it was being punished instead of winning praise for discovering the new strain.

"Excellent science should be praised and not punished," the South African Foreign Ministry said in a statement, citing travel bans around the world.

"They are punishing South Africa for its advanced genetic paving capabilities and the ability to quickly identify new variants."

South Africa fears the collapse of the tourism industry.

Johannesburg Airport, yesterday (Photo: Reuters)

The daily number of infections in South Africa - 2,828 in the last day - is a fraction compared to other countries with a similar population size, such as Germany and the United Kingdom. Just over 10% of Africa's population received one dose of the vaccine, compared with 64% in North America and 62% in Europe. The head of the South African Medical Association, Dr Anglik Kotezi, told the BBC that the cases so far identified related to the new variant were not serious, but the investigation is in its early stages.

The omicron strain, also known as B.1.1.529, attracted Scientists' attention is because it contains more than 30 mutations of the spike protein - the protein through which the virus penetrates human cells.

The World Health Organization has warned that "the variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are alarming," adding that it will take at least a few weeks to understand the effect of the variant and the speed of its spread.

However, the organization warned against imposing hasty travel restrictions, stressing that decisions should be made on a "risk and science basis."

Professor James Naismith, a structural biologist at the University of Oxford in the UK, warned that "vaccines" would probably be less effective against the omicron.

However, he noted that "this is bad news, but it is not doomsday."

Dr. Anthony Pauchi, who heads the Institute for Infectious Diseases in the United States, said that while reports of the new variant are turning on a "red light," vaccines may still work to prevent serious illness.

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