News title: A new Covid-19 variant could show immune evasion and enhanced transmissibility, South African scientists warn Summary: South Africa's health minister announced the discovery of a new coronavirus variant that appears to be spreading rapidly in parts of the country. He advised the public to try to avoid super spreading events. Officials also expressed concern that the mutation could result in immune evasion and enhanced transmissibility of the virus, but added it is too early to tell what kind of impact the mutations will have on vaccine efficacy. More studies also need to be conducted to understand the clinical severity of the variant compared to previous variants. News title: WHO calls special meeting to discuss new Covid variant found in South Africa with ‘a large number of mutations’ Summary: The World Health Organization is monitoring a new variant with numerous mutations to the spike protein, scheduling a special meeting Friday to discuss what it may mean for vaccines and treatment. The variant, called B.1.1.529, has been detected in South Africa in small numbers, according to the WHO. The B.1.1.529 variant contains multiple mutations associated with increased antibody resistance, which may reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, along with mutations that generally make it more contagious. Other mutations in the new variant have not been seen until now, so scientists do not yet know whether they are significant or will change how the virus behaves.