COVID-19: WHO due to hold meeting over new variant in South Africa

The World Health Organization (WHO) is due to hold a special meeting on Friday to consider the significance of a rapidly spreading new coronavirus variant discovered in South Africa.

Experts in Geneva will decide whether the B.1.1.529 variant should be designated a variant of concern.

A senior WHO official said it could take weeks to establish whether the high number of mutations had implications for the effectiveness of existing vaccines, BBC News reports.

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South African experts say the variant has spread rapidly among students in Pretoria.