The VaxuMzansi National Vaccine Day Campaign in South Africa will be launched in September of 2021.
The images are by Rajesh Jantilal.
The variant of the Covid-19 virus that was first identified in Botswana is rapidly outcompeting other versions of the virus in the region of South Africa.
The Delta variant became the dominant variant in most of the world over the summer, but the variant currently denominated B. 1.1.529 has twice as many of the mutations displayed by it.
It's not clear whether the variant causes more severe illness or if it makes the variant more infectious, but researchers say the high number of mutations to the "spike proteins" may make it more able to get past the body's immune response.
Despite the spread of this variant, the number of Covid-19 cases in South Africa is still below the Delta surge earlier this year. The numbers are starting to move again.
The United Kingdom has added six countries in southern Africa to its "red list" for travelers until more is known about the variant.
An emergency meeting has been called by the World Health Organization. The next Greek letter in the current naming scheme is likely to be "Nu," if it's determined to be of special interest or concern.
