U.S. Army scientists are analyzing a new COVID-19 strain found in the UK and investigating whether current vaccines are enough to combat it.
Scientists at Army Research Institute Walter Reed last week began analyzing data to determine the extent of the danger of the new mutated variant and trying to determine whether the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will fight the strain.
“It’s logical that this mutation isn’t a threat, but you never know,” Nelson Michael, a doctor at the Infectious Diseases Research Center at the Walter Reed Army Research Institute, told CNN.
“We still have to be diligent and keep looking.”
The scientists began their research by doing a computer analysis of the new strain. If the results show concern, laboratory and animal studies will be performed to determine whether the vaccine will work with this variant.
“Computer analysis will allow us to measure what concern we should have,” Michael said. “Other teams around the world are also doing this analysis.”
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and are distributed in the United States. They work by creating genetic planes for the tips that appear on the surface of the original coronavirus. Then the immune system attacks these peaks.
There have been no reports of the new strain in the United States yet.
Experts, who cite that viruses always mutate, say the new strain will not necessarily override the current vaccine.
“Even with mutations, the virus remains essentially the same,” said William Schaffner, an advisor to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “It’s like having a person. I can change my brown coat for a gray coat, but I’m still Bill Schaffner. I’ve changed something, but I’m still the same person.”
During a press conference in England on Saturday, when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new holiday closures, the UK’s top scientific adviser addressed vaccines.
“Our working assumption of all scientists right now is that the vaccine response should be appropriate for this virus,” Dr. Patrick Vallance said.
Related stories
© 2020 Newsmax. All rights reserved.