Further information this week on the South African variant which, along with one of the two Brazilian variants, is of most concern.

The South African variant was shown to be resistant to almost 50% of samples of antibodies the current vaccines cause the body to create. https://twitter.com/AdamJKucharski/status/1351228542143651840

This is a good thread on where we are with variants and where we may be headed.

TLDR: the current problematic variants may reduce vaccine efficacy but it will likely take more transmission before new vaccines are needed. https://twitter.com/trvrb/status/1340409968818671616

As variants developed through transmission become the greatest threat, the more a vaccine-assisted elimination strategy similar to that pursued by Taiwan, New Zealand & Australia makes sense.

Michael Baker & colleagues at @otago make a good case for it. https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4907