Recent data by AfricaCDC shows that only 6.6 pc of people on continent are fully vaccinated.
Scientists are now racing to understand the impact of the new, heavily mutated strain, feared to be more infectious than Delta.
Concerns over vaccine safety and the adverse side effects of the vaccines have been identified as the main reasons for their hesitancy.
One fortunate aspect of the new variant is that it is easy to detect.
High fertiliser prices could exert inflationary pressures on food prices, compounding food security concerns.
