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LONDON – The developers of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine expect to have a vaccine modified to deal with the South African variant coronavirus by the fall, the vaccine’s lead researcher said on Sunday.
Health officials in Britain are trying to contain the spread of the variant first identified in South Africa, fearing it is no longer contagious or resistant to existing vaccines. More than 100 cases of the South African variant have been found in the UK
Sarah Gilbert, principal researcher for the Oxford team, told the BBC on Sunday that “we have a version with the South African peak streak in the works”.
“It seems very likely that we may have a new version ready for use in the fall,” she added.
His comments came as the University of Oxford said early data from a small study suggested the AstraZeneca vaccine offered only “minimal protection” against mild illnesses caused by the South African variant.
The study, which has not yet been peer reviewed, involved 2,000 people, most of whom were young and healthy. The average age of the volunteers was 31 years old.
“Protection against moderate to severe illness, hospitalization or death could not be assessed in this study because the target population was at such a low risk,” said University of Oxford.
Robin Shattock, a scientist leading coronavirus vaccine research at Imperial College London, called for caution regarding the study’s initial results. But he said it was “of concern to some extent that we’re seeing that it’s not effective against mild or moderate disease.”
English authorities last week traveled from house to house to administer the COVID-19 test in eight regions where the South African variant is believed to be spreading, after a handful of cases were found in people who had not no contact with the country or anyone who traveled there.
The testing blitz aims to quell the variant before it spreads widely and undermines the UK vaccination rollout. Public health officials are concerned about the South African variant because it contains a mutation in the spike protein characteristic of the virus, targeted by existing vaccines.
Britain has witnessed Europe’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak, with more than 112,000 confirmed deaths, but has embarked on a faster vaccination plan than the neighboring European Union. The UK has so far given an initial coronavirus vaccine to around 11.5 million people.
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