Scientists have identified an “escape mutant” that could reduce the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines.
The mutation – called E484K – was found in a variant of the coronavirus that was first spotted in South Africa two months ago. The variant has now spread to 12 other countries.
Penny Moore, associate professor at the National Institute of Communicable Diseases in South Africa, calls the mutation ‘worrying’.
“We fear that this mutation could have an impact, and what we do not know is the extent of the impact,” she said.
E484K is called an “escape mutant” because it appears to be possible to escape the antibodies produced by the vaccine.
“I’m worried,” said Alex Sigal, a virologist at the Africa Health Research Institute.
Sigal, Moore and other scientists studying the E484K mutation have yet to complete their work in the laboratory to see if the vaccine is less effective against this new variant.
Based on what they have seen so far, they say they very much doubt that E484K will render the coronavirus vaccines useless. Rather, they think that there is a possibility that the mutation alone or in combination with other mutations may reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine against the variant.
They are also concerned that E484K may be an indication that the new coronavirus is showing its ability to change before our eyes. If this mutation were to occur within a few months, other problematic mutations could follow.
“This virus may be taking the first steps on a fairly long road to vaccine resistance,” said Andrew Ward, a structural virologist at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California.
“This is the beginning of a long distance,” Moore said. ‘That’s what really shook me about this. It’s a sobering wake-up call. ‘
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