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As COVID-19 continues to spread, the higher the chances of more variants emerging. Since the onset of the pandemic, four variants of concern have been identified, with the Delta—first detected in India—being the most transmissible currently and dominant in many countries. In Nigeria, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, explains how the country is responding to the pandemic in the wake of the more infectious variants.

On 28 September 2021, government line ministries, department and agencies in Sierra Leone along with partners in the One Health Platform – the World Health Organization, FAO, USAID, Breakthrough Action – commemorated World Rabies Day to increase public awareness and promote the sharing of “Rabies facts and not fear’, being the theme for this year’s celebration.

In December 2020, South Africa detected the Beta variant and in May 2021 the Delta variant, thanks to robust genomic surveillance. Professor Tulio De Oliveira, a renowned bioinformatician who identified the Beta variant, explains the criticality of genomic sequencing. Professor De Oliveira is the Director of the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP) and Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) based in South Africa.

Zimbabwe has received 943,200 COVID-19 vaccine doses from the global COVAX Facility to complement ongoing national vaccine deployment.