A new COVID variant has now been found in South Africa. While the World Health Organization has yet to call this variant, a variant of concern, the C.1.2. variant, as it is being referred to, is drawing the attention of many scientists and researchers for the rapid nature at which it mutates.
The C.1.2. variant has been said to carry the most mutations since the "wild" variant came out of China.
C.1.2. was first found in the Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces in May of this year. This new variant has been seen in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritius, New Zealand, Portugal, and Switzerland, according to South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
According to some studies, this new variant is more transmissible due to its several mutations. It has also been said that this mutation can potentially evade COVID vaccines, though that has not been confirmed.
For a variant to be considered a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization, the variant has to be proven to show "increased transmissibility" - it is too early to call C.1.2. a "variant of interest". That could change with more studies and with the time that passes. You should not worry about C.1.2. in the United States, just yet.
Stay safe!