‘Big question mark’: British scientist on efficacy of Covid-19 vaccine against South African variant – World News

As the UK rolled out the second coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine on Monday, a renowned Oxford scientist said there was a ‘big question mark’ around the effectiveness of the vaccines on the South African variant of SARS-CoV-2. The new Covid-19 strain, named 20C / 501Y.V2, has caused a rapid increase in coronavirus cases in South Africa and two cases of the variant have also been discovered UK release December 23.

Sir John Bell, an Oxford professor working with the UK government on its vaccination program, told Times Radio that there was no data to suggest that the South African variant is more lethal than the one native to Great- Brittany, but he was concerned about the mutations in old. Bell said a team of researchers are studying how currently available vaccines might fight variants of the virus.

“There is still some research to be done, but if you want my gut feeling I think the vaccine will be effective against the Kent strain and I’m not familiar with the South African strain. I think there is a big question mark about this, ”the professor said.

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The South African variant was first identified in Nelson Mandela Bay in samples dating from early October 2020, and the variant was also identified in Zambia at the end of December 2020. Bell considered it unlikely that highly transmissible mutations “turn off the effect.” of vaccines entirely.

“We have a little leeway because the vaccines work, I think, much better than any of us thought,” he said. “We have some leeway. If they worked 20% less well because of a mutation, we would still have good vaccines.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was “incredibly concerned about the South African variant” of the coronavirus, calling it “even more of a problem” than the new British strain. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is no evidence to suggest that the South African variant has an impact on the severity of the disease or the effectiveness of the vaccine.