Cowan, D.A.Burton, S.G.Rybicki, E.P.Wiliamson, A.L.Dorrington, R.A.Pepper, M.S.2024-03-302024-03-302021-03-01Cowan DA, Burton SG, Rybicki EP, Wiliamson A-L, Dorrington RA, Pepper MS. Viruses, variants and vaccines. South African Medical Journal 2021;111(5):409-411. DOI:10.7196/SAMJ.2021.v111i5.1557810.7196/SAMJ.2021.v111i5.1557810.7196/SAMJ.2021.v111i5.15578http://www.samj.org.za/index.php/samj/article/view/13211https://hdl.handle.net/11288/595832The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has brought a number of major global clinical, sociological and economic issues into sharp focus. We address some of these issues, focusing on short-term factors such as virus mutations and vaccine efficacy, and also considering the longer-term implications of the current pandemic. We discuss societal responses to the presence of a pathogen that will probably remain in circulation for decades or longer, and to future new emergent viruses.enAttribution 3.0 United Stateshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/VirusSARS-CoV-2Antiviral vaccineMutationVariantSDG-03 Good health and well-beingArticleSAMJ