Former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb said on Sunday that existing coronavirus vaccines are likely to be about 20 percent less effective against strains of the virus that are thought to have originated in South Africa and Brazil, but the vaccines offer still significant protection.
‘I think there is a rule of thumb that we can assume that the vaccines will probably be about 20 percent less effective against these new variants from Brazil and South Africa, which have mutated some important regions of the protein we target with our vaccines. Gottlieb, who sits on the board of Pfizer, said on CBS’s ‘Face the Nation’.
However, Gottlieb added: ‘The mRNA vaccines … are very effective. And even if we see a decrease in the effectiveness of those vaccines, and it may not be that deep with the vaccines, you still get very good protection with the vaccines. ‘
“The vaccines are likely to be about 20% less effective,” against some of the new # Covid19 strains – especially the B1351 variant found in South Africa – but @ScottGottliebMD emphasizes that the vaccines are still effective. pic.twitter.com/ZAFc0F2EQc
– Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) 7 February 2021
Gottlieb further says: ‘We may also develop in time, perhaps in four or six months, a consensus tension that offers many different variations that we see boosters available for the fall. I therefore think that there is a reasonable chance that we will be able to stay ahead of this virus as it mutates. “
The former FDA chief added that he remains particularly concerned about the spread of another variant, which is believed to have originated in England in Florida and Southern California.
‘And although I do not think so [Florida is] are going to have another surge of infection, they may have persistent high infection because [the British strain] is gaining a better foothold in that part of the country, ”he added.