Coronavirus testing facility in Pretoria, South Africa.
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers / Bloomberg
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers / Bloomberg
A study by South African scientists on the new variant of coronavirus leading to a resurgence of cases in the country raises concerns about the effectiveness of vaccines and a new class of therapies.
Half of the blood samples taken from a small group of people who had recovered from Covid-19 did not have the antibodies needed to protect themselves from the 501Y.V2 strain identified last month, according to the document. National Institute of Communicable Diseases of South Africa. In the other half, antibody levels were reduced and the risk of reinfection could not be determined, according to the institute.
New strains of the virus have also been identified in countries such as the United Kingdom and Brazil, raising concerns that increasingly dangerous versions of the pathogen yet to emerge could hamper global vaccine deployment.
The lineage recently identified in Brazil “also has changes in the key positions” shown in this study to “affect neutralizing antibodies,” the scientists said. “Our data suggest that this lineage is likely to show significant levels of neutralization resistance, turning the two lineages into considerable public health problems “.
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NICD results may “portend a reduction in the effectiveness of current peak-based vaccines,” the scientists said. They also suggest this treatment with plasma from donors who have had coronavirus may not be successful in those with this variant. The findings were not reviewed by experts and were based on samples from 44 donors.
“These data highlight the need for increased and constant surveillance and sequencing during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic,” the authors said, including NICD professor Penny Moore.
The strain that emerged in South Africa is ready 50% more transmissible than previous versions, said Salim Abdool Karim, co-chair of the Covid-19 advisory committee, in a presentation earlier this week. However, there is no evidence that it is more likely to cause hospitalization or death, he said.
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A separate study by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE He showed that his Covid-19 vaccine will protect against the new variant of the coronavirus that emerged in the UK. Scientists have previously said that many existing vaccines could be adapted to new strains if necessary.
– With the assistance of Naomi Kresge
(Updates with a small sample size and that the study was not peer-reviewed in the fifth paragraph)