It ultimately looked like the United States and much of the world could finally be on their way to a COVID-19-free world by the end of the year. As mass vaccination efforts continue and overall viral infection rates decline across the country, President Biden has kept his promise to step up the government’s response to the pandemic. An unpredictable wildcard that could prolong recovery time after the pandemic is in the variations of the virus that have emerged.


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As reported by NBC News, COVID-19 vaccines currently on the market could become ineffective against the virus as early as next year due to mutations in the strain. According to a new survey by the People’s Vaccine Alliance, nearly 65% ​​of 77 epidemiologists, virologists and infectious disease specialists surveyed believe the vaccine’s window of effectiveness is around nine months or less.

Less than an eighth of those polled said they believed these variants would not make the current vaccine ineffective. The majority, however, believe that we have, “a year or less before the virus mutates as the majority of first generation vaccines become ineffective and new or modified vaccines are needed.” The experts interviewed come from some of the world’s leading academic institutions in 28 countries.


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In addition, the survey found that 88% of experts agree that “persistent low vaccination coverage in many countries would increase the likelihood of the emergence of vaccine-resistant mutations.” Judging by the pace of the current global immunization administration, only 10 percent of people in predominantly poor countries will be immunized within the next year.

As more mutations in the virus emerge, vaccine developers around the world have reported that they have started working on booster shots to treat the variants.


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