SOUTH AFRICA should have been given the credit for identifying the Omicron variant of Covid-19 instead of being subjected to a “racist” backlash, a senior physician has said.

Dr Borna Nyaoke, who is charge of ANTICOV in Kenya and Sudan, the largest Covid-19 clinical trial in Africa, told The Voice that the discovery was a “great moment” for SA but the travel ban which was immediately slapped on southern African countries was disappointing.

The Omicron variant, feared to spread faster and partially reduce vaccine protection, was first identified in South Africa last year, and classed as ‘a variant of concern’ by the World Health Organisation (WHO) – the WHO’s top category of worrying COVID-19 variants. 

To date, the Africa CDC (Centers for Disease Control) has recorded more than 231,157 deaths from COVID-19, however, the true toll is estimated to be far higher, figures suggest 8.9 million Africans have contracted the virus. 

Omicron is now prevalent worldwide and South Africa, in particular, is providing clues to life after the variant. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government has said the country’s fourth Covid-19 wave has now peaked. The estimated fatal impact attributed to Omicron is about 10,000, compared with about 110,000 deaths during the previous, Delta-driven wave. 

Even though three-quarters of all South Africans are still not double jabbed against Covid-19, vaccinations, immunity after previous infections, and signs that Omicron is a milder disease appear to have kept the pressure off hospitals.

As we enter year three of the global Coronavirus pandemic, the mainstream media continues to be distracted by the racial undertones of the African discovered Omicron variant – but our focus remains the care and protection of Africans. 

The Voice spoke with Dr. Borna Nyaoke, named as one of ‘the Top 40 under 40 women’ by Business Daily Africa, she is one of the people leading the fight against Covid-19 in Africa. 

Dr. Nyaoke, a Liverpool University and Harvard Medical School-educated scholar is the Senior Clinical Project Manager, at Drugs for Neglected Diseases (DNDi), a woman who believes strongly in research ‘for Africans by Africans’. 

Dr. Nyaoke said: “Our primary aim is to find drugs and or treatments that reduce the likelihood of mild to moderate COVID-19 developing into serious illness helping to avoid overwhelming already overburdened health systems across Africa. Our hospitals do not have adequate critical care responses, so this is our focus. 

Launched in November 2020 by the ANTICOV consortium, the study is an open-label, randomised, comparative, ‘adaptive platform trial’ that is testing the safety and efficacy of treatments in mild-to-moderate Covid-19 patients. ANTICOV aims to identify early treatments that can prevent the progression of Covid-19 to severe disease and potentially limit transmission.

On the Omicron discovery, Dr. Nyaoke says: “We thought it was a great moment for Africa and our researchers. But the response was that we had Omicron rather than we, before any other, had found it first. 

“Had it been their [The West’s] discovery, I believe there would have been much more enthusiasm and grace; I don’t think anyone anticipated the racist response but it was disappointing. If another breakthrough is made here, I imagine steps will be taken to mitigate the political issue and keep the focus on global health.” 

While it may appear that the contribution from African doctors and scientists has been diminished, those from the region were penalised for their vigilance and expertise. Travel bans were also imposed to many sub-Saharan countries – we now know the variant was discovered in South Africa, but did not originate in Africa. 

This is the global thanks for these remarkable researchers from predominantly Black nations identifying COVID-19’s Omicron variant ahead of the world.

While Dr. Nyaoke and the team at ANTICOV are not fazed by this “disappointing” response, the ANTICOV clinical trial, conducted in 13 African countries, has started the recruitment of participants to test a new drug combination, nitazoxanide + ciclesonide, to treat people with mild-to-moderate Covid-19 before their cases become severe. 

The team of researchers continues to seek the most promising treatments from ongoing global scientific efforts with proof of efficacy, in collaboration with the Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) Therapeutics Partnership, co-convened by Unitaid and Wellcome on behalf of the Covid-19 Therapeutics Accelerator.