JOHANNESBURG: A new variant of the coronavirus that is growing across South Africa may make existing Covid-19 vaccines less effective, but they are unlikely to be fully resistant to vaccines, according to leading researchers who have studied the mutations and vaccines.
The variant, which has already appeared in patients in Europe and other African countries, has quickly become predominant in South Africa, aggravating a second wave of infections that overwhelms hospitals and has caused deaths. daily reach maximums.
South African researchers are stepping up to determine whether this causes patients to suffer more severely than other variants of the virus. They are also testing how it responds to the antibodies of people who have recovered from Covid-19 and people who have received coronavirus vaccines.
Researchers around the world are eagerly awaiting their official findings, as one of the mutations in the variant has shown in previous laboratory experiments increased resistance to some of the antibodies the body uses to fight Covid-19. UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said earlier this week that he was “incredibly concerned about the South African variant”.
But scientists who worked on the antibody experiments and lead researchers of several vaccine trials conducted in South Africa say that, based on their understanding of the virus and the immune response elicited by the traits, vaccinations should work against the new variant, though perhaps not as effectively.