Gottlieb: Vaccines will probably be 20% less effective against some strains

Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said on Sunday that existing coronavirus vaccines would probably be 20% less effective against strains of the virus believed to have originated in South Africa. and Brazil, but vaccines will still offer significant protection.

“I think there’s a general rule that we can assume that vaccines will probably be 20% less effective against these new variants from Brazil and South Africa, which have mutated some key regions of the protein that we target with our vaccines. , “Gottlieb, who serves on Pfizer’s board of directors, told CBS’s” Face the Nation. “

However, Gottlieb added: “mRNA vaccines … are very effective. And therefore, even if we see a reduction in the effectiveness of these vaccines and it may not be as profound. with these vaccines, you will still get very good protection with these vaccines. “

Gottlieb va continuar que “també és possible que puguem desenvolupar de manera oportuna, potser en quatre o sis mesos, una varietat consensuada que cuini una gran quantitat de les diferents variacions que estem veient que tenen disponibles booster per a la tardor. Per tant, crec que hi ha una possibilitat raonable que siguem capaços de mantenir-nos per davant d’aquest virus a mesura que muta.

L’ex-cap de la FDA va afegir que continua sent especialment preocupat per la propagació d’una altra variant, que es creu que es va originar a Anglaterra, a Florida i al sud de Califòrnia.

“I tot i que no ho crec [Florida is] will have another wave of infection, they could have a persistent and high infection as [the British strain] it is gaining a better position in this part of the country, ”he added.

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