TEL AVIV, Nov 26 (The Jerusalem Post) - The South African variant B.1.1.529 has been discovered in Israel, the Health Ministry said Friday morning.

The variant was discovered in an individual who returned to Israel from Malawi. Two other cases of returnees from abroad are also suspected of being infected with the variant. They have been genetically sequenced and the results are pending.

In all three cases, the travelers were vaccinated. The details of their vaccination is currently being verified.

The Health Ministry said it will update the public as soon as more information is available.

The B.1.1.529 is of particular concern because it has more than 30 mutations on the spike protein, explained Prof. Nadav Davidovich.

All of the current coronavirus vaccines center on the spike protein, raising concern that the variant could be vaccine-resistant.

Davidovich said that the variant spread very quickly in South Africa, even fast than the Delta variant, and that there are concerns that the variant could cause a more severe disease. In South Africa, infection has been on the decline before the emergence of the B.1.1.529.

The variant is still being evaluated. The World Health Organization (WHO) is expected to hold a meeting on Friday to discuss the B.1.1.529 variant.