Gottlieb says vaccination “should be a safety net” to protect against variant virus

Washington – Dr Scott Gottlieb, who formerly headed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said on Sunday that COVID-19 vaccines “should be a safety net” against a new variant of coronavirus detected in the UK which has now been identified in the USA.

“The good news with B.1.1.7, if there is any good news, is that as we further vaccinate the population, this should be a safety net against the continued spread of this variant,” Gottlieb said of the British lineage in an interview with “Face the Nation”.

New variants of the coronavirus have been identified in the UK, South Africa and Brazil and are now circulating around the world, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The British variant B.1.1.7. Has been reported in 30 states, while South African variant B.1.351 and Brazilian variant P.1 have been reported in South Carolina and Minnesota respectively.

Gottlieb said there is evidence to suggest the British strain causes more severe disease and is around 50% more transmissible, but he noted that data from the COVID-19 vaccine trials from Johnson & Johnson and Novavax, which develop both a coronavirus vaccine, show vaccination, and previous infection appears to be protection against the variant.

“Prior immunity and vaccines appear to be equally effective against this new variant,” he said. “So as we further immunize the population and if people continue to wear masks and be vigilant in those parts of the country, we can keep that at bay. It’s not too late, but it is. a real risk to those parts of the country. now. “

Gottlieb predicted there might be booster shots to protect against variants for the fall and said the FDA was working on a regulatory framework to allow for approval of vaccine recalls.

“I think that framework is going to be mapped out and the companies have said that they are already working on these new recalls. We could have them in time for all of these vaccines to drop. There’s no reason we can’t. not do that, “he said.

Gottlieb said there is unlikely to be a national outbreak with B.1.1.7 in the spring and summer, although fall poses a risk. Instead, he predicted there would be regionalized epidemics, with California and southern Florida being the current hot spots. There are 113 reported cases of the UK variant in California and 125 reported cases in Florida, according to the CDC.

“These cities need to be very aware of the spread of these variants,” he said.

There have been more than 26 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States and nearly 440,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. But the Biden administration warns that the death toll will exceed 500,000 and that another 90,000 Americans will die from COVID-19 in the next four weeks.

Yet hospitalizations and the spread of COVID-19 appear to be declining.

Gottlieb said the nation has “the potential to turn a corner,” but acknowledged that the new variants create risks.

“Things are clearly improving across the country,” he said. “We can’t let go of the brakes too quickly when it comes to things people do, like wearing masks and being more vigilant. This is probably what is driving down infection rates across the country right now.