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Infection rates of the new variant of the Omicron coronavirus are rising in South Africa and is spreading more and more to the elderly, Health Minister Joe Phaahla reported.
In the most affected region in the country – Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg and Pretoria, the number of cases increased by 400 percent from week to week, Phaahla reported.
Tests showed that about 70 percent of the cases belonged to the Omicron variant. However, the figures seem to confirm initial studies of relatively mild symptoms and shorter hospital stays, according to scientist Glenda Gray and her colleague Michelle Groome of the National Institute on Communicable Diseases.
Research by South African professor Alex Sigal also showed that while Omicron reduces protection against the vaccine, it still offers a protection of up to 70 percent, depending on the number of antibodies developed. Sigal said he saw no reason to believe the vaccination did not protect against severe Omicron infection.
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