A laboratory technician uses a single-channel pipette dropper to test the material during the processing of Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in a laboratory in the suburb of Dunkeld, Johannesburg, South Africa , on Wednesday, February 10, 2021.
Waldo Swiegers | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Preliminary reports from South Africa show that people who have recovered from Covid-19 have been reinfected with a new, more contagious variant of the virus, World Health Organization officials said on Friday.
The good news, however, is that vaccines developed to protect against the virus appear to reduce the severity of the disease in those who develop Covid-19, even if it doesn’t completely protect them from infection, Dr. Swaminathan.
“The file [vaccine] trials conducted so far in South Africa and Brazil with different candidates have shown complete protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death. There have been no reported cases in any of the trials, “he said.
Vaccination may also slow the spread of new variants of Covid, according to the WHO.
“There are reports now that if you have the vaccine and you get infected, the viral load is much lower. Therefore, the chances of infecting other people may be lower,” Swaminathan said.
Scientists have found that pre-Covid infection produces antibodies and mediated cellular immunity that is believed to prevent reinfection. Vaccination also helps individuals protect themselves against the virus.
But researchers continue to study the extent to which previous infection and vaccination protect against the new, more infectious variants of the coronavirus.
Increased vaccination efforts are likely to be insufficient to manage the spread of the coronavirus strain native to the UK, Dr Scott Gottlieb, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, told CNBC on Thursday. Gottlieb said a combination of warmer weather and intensive vaccines could contain the variant.
Swaminathan, at the WHO briefing on Friday, stressed the importance of vaccinated people to continue taking precautions such as the use of masks, hand washing and social distancing to control the spread of the virus.