WATCH | C.1.2 variant: What is it and should we be worried?

South African scientists have identified a new coronavirus variant that shares many mutations with some of the world’s most dominant strains, but the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said it does not seem to be spreading.

On Monday the National Institute for Communicable Diseases shared information about the new Covid-19 variant, named C.1.2, which was recently detected and confirmed.

The Delta variant still predominates in SA, with C.1.2 detected at a low frequency. It has become more common, but is present in fewer than 3% of samples.

Where and when was it first discovered, should we be concerned and do current vaccines work? We explain it all.