/The Kraken/
A legendary sea monster that has its roots in Scandanavian folklore – depicted as a cephalopod (think squid, or cuttlefish) that can destroy entire ships. There are other similar sea monsters shared in human storytelling – Greek mythology references Teuthos and Scylla, while the Japanese speak of Akkorokamui, and the Māori have Te Wheke-a-Muturangi (which was slayed by Kupe when the legendary Polynesian explorer discovered New Zealand).
By now you’re familiar with the new Covid-19 variant called Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5. Rolls off the tongue, right?
The bad news
It appears to be more transmissible than the OG “catchiest ever” Omicron strain and is scarily nicknamed Kraken.
The good news
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it does not have any data on severity yet, or a clinical picture on its impact. Yes, that IS good news – see how optimistic WHO’s senior epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove is:
“We do expect further waves of infection around the world, but that doesn’t have to translate into further waves of death because our countermeasures continue to work.”
While they say there is no need to panic, some precautions should be taken. In some spaces, South Africans have started masking up again [Ed: We’re kind of into it].
How did it get here?
Earlier this month, Stellenbosch University’s Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa (NGS-SA) detected the Kraken in a sample specimen from a patient on 27 December last year.
“We believe that the fact that the dominant variant of concern in China and in the world remains the Omicron, and that the immunity of South Africans from vaccination and natural immunity is still very strong,” said Health Minister Health Minister Dr. Joe Phaahla.
Before adding that while there is no indication that the strain is causing more severe symptoms, the government is urging citizens to get vaccinated and boosted.
The vaccine situation in SA looks very healthy.
“We do have large stocks of our two vaccines. We have approximately 10 million doses of the J&J vaccine and eight million doses of the Pfizer vaccine,” Dr Lesley Bamford explained in a press conference.
“The Pfizer vaccine…currently the doses expire at the end of March and the end of April. However, we do anticipate that the shelf life of the vaccines will be extended for a minimum of another three months.”
“The J&J vaccines do not expire until 2024 and in some cases, 2025,” she said.
Currently all adults who have not received a vaccine in the last six months are eligible for a booster dose, while adults over 50 can receive a fifth vaccination.
Teenagers (12-17) are only eligible for two vaccinations and doses of the pediatric Pfizer vaccine are expected to arrive in the country at the end of the month.
