GENEVA (AP) – The head of the World Health Organization said on Monday that the emergence of new COVID-19 variants has raised questions about whether existing vaccines will work or not, calling it ‘relevant news’ that the vaccines developed so far may be less effective against the variant first detected in South Africa.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference that the decision of South Africa to suspend its vaccination campaign on Sunday with the AstraZeneca vaccine is a reminder that we must do everything possible to reduce the circulation of the virus with proven public health measures. ‘
He said it was increasingly clear that vaccine manufacturers needed to adapt their existing shots to address the ongoing genetic evolution of the coronavirus, saying booster shots were likely to be needed, especially as new variants of the virus were now spreading worldwide and likely seems to be the predominant tribes.
Tedros added that the WHO would make a decision in the next few days on whether to recommend an emergency list for the AstraZeneca vaccine. That designation would allow millions of doses to be shipped to poor countries as part of a UN-backed effort to distribute COVID-19 vaccines worldwide, known as COVAX.
Last week, Tedros said that more than three-quarters of the COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in only ten countries and that immunization in nearly 130 countries had not yet begun. Despite the WHO’s goal of starting COVID-19 vaccination in poor countries at the same time with affluent countries, COVAX has nowhere delivered any vaccine doses.
Dr Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist of the WHO, said that people should not conclude from the decision of South Africa that the AstraZeneca vaccine does not work. She said all the available evidence so far shows that the vaccines developed so far are reducing deaths, hospitalizations and serious illnesses.
Other COVID-19 vaccines developed by Novavax, Pfizer and BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson also appear to be less effective against the strain first identified in South Africa, although they can prevent serious diseases.
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