‘Concerning constellations of mutations’: What to know about the C.1.2 variant of the coronavirus – By Michelle Robertson (SF Gate) / Sept 4 2021
Scientists identified a new variant of COVID-19 in South Africa and said in a recently pre-print paper that it displays “concerning constellations of mutations.”
There are only about 100 documented cases of the C.1.2 variant, first identified in May, in South Africa, according to the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), which has been sequencing and tracking variants during the pandemic.
In the paper, which is preprint and has yet to be peer reviewed, researchers from KRISP outlined the various mutations that may one day make C.1.2. a variant of concern across the world. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a “designated alert for further monitoring” on the variant, as of Wednesday, but it has yet to be listed as a variant of concern or interest.
Dr. Richard Lessells, an infectious disease specialist and a co-author of the paper, said he suspects, by extrapolation, that C.1.2 accounts for just 1% to 2% of cases in South Africa, but there is reason to suspect that it could become a dominant variant, such as delta. It has already been identified in eight of the nine South African provinces.
