The subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 may dodge immunity, especially in unvaccinated people, possibly causing a spike in infections worldwide.

Omicron relatives called BA.4 and BA.5 are behind a fresh wave of COVID-19 in South Africa, and could be signs of a more predictable future for SARS-CoV-2.

The spread of two newly discovered subvariants has doctors watching closely. New York Times piece on our work, 4 May 2022.

Please find CERI’s & KRISP’s newsletter. In our April/May issue of 2022, In this issue, we feature the recent research describing the novel BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron lineages in South Africa and the massive collaborative effort that provides insights on the evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa. We also highlight the New York Times article on how South Africa’s latest surge is a possible preview of the pandemic’s next chapter. We are also pleased to announce the availability of three Postdoctoral positions at CERI & KRISP and are excited to host Prof Rob Warren and Prof Moritz Kraemer at our upcoming seminar series for May.

In South Africa, a network of researchers are studying whether new lineages BA.4 and BA.5 escape immunity from COVID-19 vaccines and prior infections.

Two new sub-lineages of the Omicron variant have been detected in SA and some other countries. However, KRISP scientists say there is no cause for alarm at this stage. Known as BA.4 and BA.5, the team will continue to track their spread and study their properties. The detection of two new sub-lineages of the Omicron variant in South Africa serves as a reminder that the virus will continue to evolve and change over time.

South African scientists have discovered two new sublineages of the Omicron coronavirus variant, said Tulio de Oliveira, who runs gene-sequencing institutions in the country.

In Covid-19 history, Stellenbosch University (SU) bioinformatician Prof Tulio de Oliveira will be remembered for first detecting the Beta variant of SARS-CoV-2 in late 2020. In November 2021, a few months after moving from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) to SU's School for Data Science and Computational Thinking, he also detected the Omicron variant.

The South African Medical Research Council strongly supports excellence in health research and has established a set of medal awards to recognise world-class science. The Awards are among South Africa’s most prestigious and are dedicated to contributions to health research in South Africa.

Presenter: Prof Valerie Mizrahi, 30 March 2022, Locations: STIAS, Breakaway Room, Wallenberg Centre, University of Stellenbosch or *VIRTUALLY

The University of KwaZulu-Natal has congratulated three members of their community who received the 2022 National Batho Pele Excellence Awards (NBPEA) on Thursday evening.

Higher education is under pressure, but universities have a crucial role to play in helping society ‘build back better’ from Covid-19 and other existential challenges.

As the WHO mulls when to call the Covid pandemic over, attention is turning to the future. Last November, having alerted the world to the new and highly transmissible Omicron variant of the Sars-CoV-2 virus, South Africa-based scientist Tulio de Oliveira saw that country hit with travel bans.

Presenter: Professor Marlo Moller, 9 March 2022, 12:00-1:00pm Locations: JN DE Villiers Auditorium, Clinical Building, Tygerberg Campus, University of Stellenbosch or *VIRTUALLY

In our February/March issue of 2022, we focus on the visit of Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Minister of Health Dr. Joe Phaahla, Higher Education, Science and Innovation Deputy Minister Buti Manamela, the Belgian Minister of Development Cooperation, Meryame Kitirto to CERI’s new facilities at Stellenbosch University. We also highlight our selection on the Ten Breakthrough Technologies of 2022 by MIT and the Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition program to identify novel pathogens and respond to prevent and /or mitigate the impact of the next pandemic

Join the next African Union and Africa CDC 2022 Lecture and Discussion Series of Omicron and other COVID-19 variants of concern –where are we now?, "A New Public Health Order in the 21st Century ", Tuesday, 1 March 2022 at 3:00 pm EAT.

Concerns that BA.2 may be more severe than the original Omicron variant have been driven by a hamster study, but real-world data suggest the sublineage isn't more virulent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 is helping us spot new variants and figure out how to respond. What else could it help us do?

Presenter: Dr. Jennifer Giandhari and PhD Candidate, Houriiyah Tegally, 23 February 2022, Locations: STIAS, Breakaway Room, Wallenberg Centre, University of Stellenbosch or *VIRTUALLY

‘Reported’ deaths in South Africa have increased substantially in the past week or so – but it’s got nothing to do with the BA.2 variant.

Stellenbosch University’s (SU) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) hosted a high-level international delegation, led by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at its Tygerberg campus in Cape Town on Friday.

In this webinar, we will hear about the setting up of sequencing and bioinformatic pipelines for SARS-CoV-2, timeliness of data generated and the overall system coordination to inform public health action, with experiences and lessons learned from Denmark, South Africa and Argentina.

A collaborative partnership will ensure a boost in vaccine production capabilities in low to middle-income countries. WHO boss, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, visited the vaccine research sites in CT and said it was a 'strategic solution' to vaccine inequity.

In our January/February issue of 2022, we focus on the visit of our president Cyril Ramaphosa and minister Dr. Blade Nzimande to CERI’s new facilities at Stellenbosch University. We also highlight two students that graduated with a PhD and a MMedSci Cum Laude at KRISP at UKZN and the new papers and news about Omicron variant.

Presenter: Prof Tulio de Oliveira, Date: 2 February 2022, Locations: JN de Villiers Auditorium, Clinical Building, University of Stellenbosch Tygerberg Campus & K-RITH Tower Building, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, UKZN.

Congratulations to Ugochukwu (Jacob) Anyaneji. Mr Anyaneji, who has been awarded a Master of Medical Science (MMedSci) Cum Laude at the School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences College of Health Sciences, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal in January 2022.

We would like to present to you Dr. Emmanuel James San. Dr. San has been awarded his Ph.D. in Medicine at the College of Health Sciences, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal in January 2022.

We at CERI and KRISP are very used to epidemic and pandemic responses. One of the crucial tools for fast communication of results across the scientific community, media, government, and general population is Twitter. Follow us for real-time updates

A South African woman suffering from inadequately treated HIV, and who harboured Covid-19 for nine months saw the respiratory virus develop at least 21 mutations while in her body, according to a study.

The highly transmissible variant emerged with a host of unusual mutations. Now scientists are trying to work out how it evolved. Nature news piece covering the original Omicron paper and the main theories of how the variant emerged.