MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. The instances of coronavirus C.1.2 mutation detected in South Africa have not been confirmed in Russia, the Vector State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing told journalists on Tuesday.
"In the Russian Federation, the cases of the disease of this lineage have not been detected," the statement said.
As the center added, as of August 31, the GISAID database contained information on a total of 101 genetic sequences belonging to the C.1.2 lineage. The viruses of this lineage were detected in nine countries - South Africa, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Botswana, China, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland and the UK. At the same time, the incidence of the C.1.2 lineage in South Africa amounts to about 1%, and to less than 1% in other countries.
"Based on the set of mutations of the C.1.2 lineage, the specialists of South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases suspect that possibly the viruses of this lineage might be able to partially evade the immune response, but despite this, that vaccines will still offer high levels of protection against hospitalization and death. Given the available information on specific mutations, we also allow for the possibility of the C.1.2 lineage having some advantages from the point of view of sensitivity to components of the immune response yet in order to specify the corresponding parameters, additional studies are needed," the Vector Center emphasized, adding that the World Health Organization does not classify the lineage as a variant of concern or interest, it also doesn’t deem that the variant requires further monitoring.
On Monday, South Africa’s Eyewitness News portal reported that a new coronavirus strain named C.1.2 was identified by specialists from South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases. According to the scientists, the new strain may be more aggressive while having increased resistance to vaccines. The latest studies demonstrate that the С.1.2 strain has already spread to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, China, New Zealand, the UK, Portugal, Switzerland and Mauritius.