US in ‘race against time’ with new coronavirus variants, scientists warn

The United States is in a race against time to vaccinate as many people as possible before other potentially more worrying variants of the coronavirus emerge, experts say.

Vaccination efforts in the United States have been hampered by delivery problems, insufficient supply and a reluctance to get vaccinated. But to prevent a new wave of infections, hospitalizations and deaths, scientists say it may be necessary to rethink the way vaccines are deployed to increase the number of vaccines given and protect against new strains of the disease. virus.

“We are really in a race against new variants,” said Wan Yang, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. “We need to prepare as much as possible before things rise to a level that places more strain on our health care systems.”

Comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

The vaccines, one made by Pfizer-BioNTech and the other by Moderna, appear to be effective against a more contagious variant that was first reported in November in the UK. However, with a distinct variant believed to have emerged in South Africa, Moderna’s early laboratory studies showed a drop in the level of antibodies produced by the company’s vaccine. Although Moderna said the antibodies remained above protection levels, the development prompted the company to start upgrading its existing vaccine to make it more effective against emerging strains.

In the meantime, it is essential that states try to vaccinate as many people as possible, said Ali Mokdad, professor of global health at the University of Washington. This could mean thinking beyond the phased approach that prioritizes certain age groups and occupations and, instead, offering vaccination to anyone who wants it.

“You can save lives by targeting the vaccine at the elderly, but there will be a time when we have enough vaccines, when those phases for who goes first, second and third should be abolished immediately,” Mokdad said.

Mokdad warned that the United States is not at this stage yet, as there are still too many difficulties to overcome in the procurement and distribution of vaccines. Across the country, vaccine rollouts have been bumpy, with some states struggling to administer all the doses they have received and others forced to cancel appointments due to dwindling supplies.

“The reason we’re taking this step-by-step approach is because the supply is limited,” said Deepta Bhattacharya, associate professor of immunobiology at the University of Arizona. “Overall, if you can fix the supply issues, you can vaccinate as many people as possible.”

Without a stable pipeline between manufacture and distribution, Mokdad said, the country remains vulnerable if a new strain begins to circulate that is more contagious or more deadly or that may escape current vaccines.

Download the NBC News app for comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

The prospect is not entirely without merit, said Dr Robert Califf, head of medical strategy and policy at Verily Life Sciences.

“The more people who are infected over time, the more likely the virus is to mutate,” said Califf, a professor of medicine at Duke University who was commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration in the Obama administration. “If we do not suppress the pandemic, there is a higher risk that one of these mutations may escape the vaccine or the therapeutic antibodies, or both.”

This makes it all the more important to curb outbreaks – with standard mitigation measures, such as wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and avoiding large or indoor gatherings – as researchers on vaccines are trying to stay ahead of the evolution of the virus, experts say.

“It’s like a competition between virus and science,” Califf said.

But there are reasons for optimism, Bhattacharya said, pointing to signs that the Biden administration is preparing a more coordinated federal response than that of its predecessor. Supply issues could also be quickly resolved if other vaccines, including those developed by Johnson & Johnson and Novavax, are permitted for use in the United States.

“It’s been frustrating,” Bhattacharya said, “but I’m pretty confident that some of the bottlenecks will start to be eased.”