Johannesburg, South Africa – The new coronavirus variant identified in South Africa poses an even greater risk than the strain discovered in England a few weeks ago, Britain’s top health official warned on Monday. His alarm came when scientists warned that the new strain that washes through South African coastal communities could be resistant to the COVID-19 vaccines that have been approved or are waiting in the US and Europe.
“I am incredibly concerned about the South African variant,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock told BBC Radio. “This is a very, very important problem … it’s an even bigger problem than the British new variant.”
Since the first doses of the Oxford University AstraZeneca vaccine were out of medical trials Admitted to Oxford Hospital on Monday, Oxford senior immunologist, Professor John Bell, who helped create the prestigious university’s vaccine, said there was a ‘big question’ whether the current versions of vaccines would work on the South African variant.
He said it was “unlikely” that the mutation would render the vaccines ineffective, but that they might need adjustments to provide as much protection against the strain as against others already being distributed elsewhere.
The lead researcher on the investigation into the Oxford vaccine carried out in South Africa, Professor Shabir Madhi, told CBS News on Monday that more than 13 variants of the coronavirus have been identified in the country since the pandemic began. He said the new one, 501.V2, which had spread like wildfire in South Africa’s coastal cities, was by far the most worrying mutation of the virus.
“It is not obvious that the vaccine will not work on this variant, but it is a consideration that the vaccine may not have the full efficacy,” he said.
Well-tried times
Both Oxford and the American pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson conducted human trials with their vaccinations in South Africa, including doses given since the new variant began to spread.
“Those who were in our trial received the second dose during the time of this new variant, which is very fortunate,” Madhi said, adding that he would expect the relevant test results by the fourth week of January.
Glenda Gray, president of the South African Medical Research Council and leader of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine testing team, confirmed that their trials also gave doses to participants amid the outbreak of the new strain.
“It is fortunate that this timing will enable us to see if there is a change to the new variant” in the efficacy of the vaccine, she said. Her team also expects results “by the end of this month.”
“This new variant should not delay access to vaccines, but it also means that we should monitor breakthrough infections,” she said, referring to the infection rate among those who received the vaccine.
Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine requires only one dose, unlike the Oxford and Pfizer vaccines approved for use in Britain, or the Moderna formula used in the US with the Pfizer shots.
The Oxford vaccine was examined by 2,100 volunteers at seven different locations across South Africa, while about 45,000 people were involved in the Johnson and Johnson trials.
So far, immunologists have expressed little concern about the efficacy of the approved or pending vaccines against other mutations of the coronavirus, including a variant discovered in the London region late last year, which has sharply boosted British infection rates.
Government scientists say the new British strain, like the South African variant, is more easily transmitted between humans, but they expect it to respond to the vaccines in the same way as the more widespread versions of the disease.
South Africans are stuck waiting
Meanwhile, South Africans are still waiting to hear when any vaccines in their country may be available outside the trials.
The country’s largest union accuses the government of ‘gross incompetence’ with a plan to vaccinate vaccines. A group of leading scientists, including Glenda Gray, slammed the government in an open statement released Sunday for an ‘astonishing’ lack of planning.
Minister of Health, dr. Zweli Mkhize, within hours of the criticism, delivered an online presentation outlining the government’s plan. He said the goal was to vaccinate two-thirds of the 57 million people in South Africa by the end of the year, starting in February.
“We strive for a minimum of 67% of the population to achieve herd immunity,” he said.
The South African Ministry of Health reported a total of 1.1 million cumulative COVID-19 cases across the country, with a positive percentage of about 32% and nearly 30,000 confirmed deaths. This is the worst national coronavirus epidemic in Africa.