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(Journalist)
– Another new variant of the coronavirus has been discovered, this time in South Africa, where experts are concerned about its resistance to vaccines being deployed around the world. Shabir Madhi, a scientist who has conducted trials for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in South Africa, says there is a “theoretical” but “reasonable … concern that the South African variant may be more resistant” to current vaccines, and therefore “weaken the impact,” according to the BBC. Vaccines work by eliciting an immune response, including the creation of antibodies, which effectively block the virus. The problem is that the antibodies might not be as effective against the new strain, called 501.V2 Experts hope to find out for sure by the end of the month, according to CBS News, and say there’s no reason to panic in the meantime.
Although this variant has mutated “much more than the UK variant” known as B117, according to the BBC, scientists say there is no evidence to suggest it is more transmissible or deadly. . That said, it has “spread like wildfire” along the South African coast and has already reached abroad, including the UK, according to the Guardian. British Health Secretary Matt Hancock says he is “incredibly worried”, according to CBS. “Fortunately, if further modifications to the vaccine are needed to deal with the new variants, some of the vaccine technologies under development could allow this to be done relatively quickly,” said Helen Rees, vaccine expert at Wits University in Johannesburg, at the BBC. For Sir John Bell, head of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, it’s a sign of things to come. “These are not the only two variations that we are going to see,” he told the Guardian. (Read more stories about coronaviruses.)
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