New Covid variant of concern from S Africa

This is all true but it doesn't paint the whole picture of the current state of the vaccine rollout across Africa.   There is also a distribution and an uptake problem which isn't the fault of first world countries which snatched up all of the vaccine last winter.  Multiple countries in Africa, including South Africa, have declined shipments of vaccine for lots of complicated reasons including lack of proper cold storage and no organized distribution system in remote locations.   There has also been a rejection of the J&J shot and the the AZ vaccine in some countries.  Plus manufacturing issues in India.  And some countries in Africa didn't sign up for Covax.  I'm the first person to blame the US for being an asshole in many situations and we definitely played that role in the early days of the vaccine rollout but we also aren't responsible for every single thing that goes badly across the planet.  Covid didn't mutate in S. Africa because some greedy Americans got a booster shot before the rest of the world was vaccinated.  

I and many others have acknowledged the myriad issues around vaccine uptake, logistics and distribution.

No one said that only the US was at fault. I was responding to a post saying that the US was not at fault at all. I provided links showing the US was partly to blame. As for the manufacturing issues in India, India could not get the raw materials required to produce vaccines because of the US's de facto embargo. SA turned away AZ as it was practically useless against the variant that was dominant there at the time. IIRC efficacy was 18%.

Just a reminder that just because SA identified the variant does not mean that it arose in South Africa, much like the Spanish Flu was identified in Spain but originated in Kansas. SA does a lot of sequencing, which is why it was picked up. SA was sequencing a greater percentage of positive cases than the US. Only in the last day or so has the CDC committed to sequencing 1 out of 7 positive cases. Countries like the UK and Australia try to sequence 100% of positive cases.

As much as you may not want to face up to it, rich countries hoarding vaccines and handing out 3rd doses has meant that poorer countries have gone without, resulting in mutations arising. The WHO and others have been warning the world about the consequences of vaccine inequality since the vaccines became available.

ETA: www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/23/african-leaders-highlight-vaccine-inequity-in-un-speeches

News just announced first case in San Francisco.

Yes, they said person travelled to US from South Africa.  Person was fully vaccinated and exhibiting mild symptoms.
Not sure if this is behind a paywall:

www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/First-U-S-omicron-case-found-in-San-Francisco-16666493.php

Omicron has been identified in 24 other countries. I hate to say it, but there are likely more cases here in the US that have not been detected yet.

www.npr.org/2021/12/01/1059835937/omicron-us-first-case

www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/11/30/1059917469/omicron-variant-us-detect-track

OMICRON is an anagram for MORONIC. www.reuters.com/world/africa/safrican-doctor-says-patients-with-omicron-variant-have-very-mild-symptoms-2021-11-28/

A sign of the vaccine inequity. Richer countries are administering 6 times more boosters than low income countries giving initial vaccinations.

www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---12-november-2021

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/11/12/coronavirus-vaccine-boosters-global/
The deployment of booster shots, mostly in wealthy countries, comes as many people in lower-income countries are still waiting for their first doses. Six times more boosters are being administered globally than first doses in low-income countries, the director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said Friday, calling the lopsided rollouts “a scandal that must stop now.”