WATCH: 18% to 19% of virus cases in SA is new variant, Mkhize’s panel says

“We don’t know where it came from and how it was formed,” Professor Salim Abdool Karim said during Health Minister Zweli Mkhize’s panel discussion on Friday.

He added that the new variant was first found in Nelson Mandela Bay, and they don’t know yet how severe this variant could be.

A similar variant was found in other countries, like the UK, but the prevalence is much higher in South Africa at between 80% and 90% of all cases, Karim said.

It would take a little time to know if vaccines will be effective against this variant, he said, as it is still being studied.

However, the same treatment and strategies seem to be working against the new variant.