Scientists in South Africa have found that people infected with the new 501Y.V2 coronavirus variant have antibodies that may protect them against reinfection, as well as other virus variants.
The findings were announced during a virtual media briefing on Wednesday, hosted by Higher Education, Science and Innovation minister Blade Nzimande and Health minister, Zweli Mkhize.
The team of scientists who are involved in intensive genomic surveillance across the country also found that antibodies from people who were infected with this new, highly transmissible variant were protective against the original virus variant responsible for infections during the first wave.
