Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – A study reveals the cause of the emergence of a new variant of Covid-19, Omicron, in Africa. The research concludes that Africa’s COVID-19 vaccination gap is a major contributor to the emergence of this variant.
The report released by the Mo Ibrahim Institute said that low inoculation rates could encourage viral mutations. The research institute also stressed that Africa is currently experiencing extreme discrimination with only 5 countries meeting the target of 40% of the population being vaccinated by the end of this year.
“Since the beginning of this crisis, our Foundation and other African voices have warned that unvaccinated Africa could be the perfect incubator for multiple variants,” its chairman Mo Ibrahim said in a statement to NDTV, Monday (6/12/2021).
“The emergence of Omicron reminds us that Covid-19 remains a global threat, and worldwide vaccination is the only way forward,” he added. “But we continue to live with extreme vaccine discrimination, and Africa in particular is lagging behind.”
To date, only 1 in 15 Africans has received the Covid-19 vaccine. This is still far behind when compared to the average 70% of the population vaccinated in developed countries.
Vaccine deliveries to Africa have been ramped up in recent months although they are still constrained by a weak health care system and limited infrastructure. In addition, there is also concern about the short expiration date of donated vaccines.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially listed Omicron as a “variant of concern” or VOC (alarming variant). Omicron is reported to have more strains or mutations than the Alpha, Beta and Delta variants and is considered highly infectious. Noted, there are 32 mutations of spike protein carried by the variant.
Even so, the WHO confirmed that it had not heard news of deaths caused by this latest variant.
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