The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) had said there was “no need to panic” about the new Covid-19 variant known as Nimbus or NB.1.8.1, and that despite surges in Asia and elsewhere, thus far no local cases had been detected, although there had been increased cases of flu because of the winter season.
The variant is a descendant of the Omicron lineage, meaning that current recommendations for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are still effective and no new public health actions are required, he added.
It has been detected in 22 countries thus far – and while the NICD conceded that Covid testing throughout South Africa is limited and few specimens are being submitted for sequencing, it added that the WHO also considers the public health risk to be low.
“South Africa has robust surveillance systems in place. Our NICD manages a comprehensive sentinel surveillance programme that systematically tests for key respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, influenza and RSV,” Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said.
Currently, he added, data showed very low SARS-CoV-2 activity, and the situation would continue to be monitored by the National Health Department.
Accord
Motsoaledi, addressing the G20 Health Working Group this week, when he also praised the recent adoption of the World Health Organisation Pandemic Agreement, and called on global partners to work together towards its implementation, called for member states to support “critical” steps in reaching implementation of the pandemic accord.
“We see this agreement as a crucial step towards rectifying the deep-seated imbalances in access to life-saving pandemic products that were so painfully exposed during the Covid-19 crisis,” he said.
The 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, had formally adopted the pandemic agreement in May, which Motsoaledi described as a “landmark achievement for global health governance”. However, he noted that the work required to transform the agreement from a document of principles to a “life-saving tool for justice and our shared global health security” was far from over.
Daily Maverick reports that Tuesday’s meeting was the fourth time the Health Working Group has convened since South Africa’s G20 presidency activities kicked off.
The group’s mandate is to improve global health by addressing challenges, building resilient systems and promoting equitable access to services.
Negotiations
The adoption of the pandemic agreement came after more than three years of intensive negotiations launched by governments in response to the impacts of the pandemic.
It sets out principles, approaches and tools for better international co-ordination towards pandemic prevention and responsiveness across a range of areas, including through the “equitable and timely access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics”.
Motsoaledi said it was built on several key pillars aimed at fundamentally reshaping the approach to global health emergencies, and that the “centrepiece”, and the key to unlocking its full potential for equity, was the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) system.
This would require pharmaceutical manufacturers to contribute 20% of their production during pandemic emergencies in return for access to pathogen data.
“We are entering a critical new phase,” he added, and negotiations on the PABS system annexure would start immediately through an intergovernmental working group.
“The first meeting to elect the bureau for this group must take place before 15 July, and it is rightly anticipated that the leadership will reflect a balance between the Global North and the Global South.”
Motsoaledi called the negotiations to finalise the PABS system a political test that would demonstrate member states’ collective will to move “beyond rhetoric” towards delivering tangible results.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Global pandemic accord to be adopted
Global call for more pathogen research to prepare for next pandemic