A scientist studying the new coronavirus variant identified in South Africa has tried to allay concerns that existing COVID-19 vaccines will be completely ineffective by the variant known as 501.V2.
At least 20 mutations have been identified within the 501.V2 variant, including mutations in the much-studied vein protein that researchers have determined the virus is used to infect human cells, according to Reuters.
Although these mutations’ ‘may have an effect’ ‘, Richard Lessells, an infectious disease expert with the KwaZulu-Natal research innovation and sequencing platform, who helped identify the variant in South Africa first, said’ it is very unlikely that it will completely deny the effect of the vaccines. ‘
He noted that the vaccines are thought to elicit a broad immune response, meaning that such an immune response could target different parts of the ear protein, not just one, he told Reuters.
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The variant has been described as more contagious than the COVID-19 virus identified at the outset of the pandemic. In South Africa, it quickly became dominant in the country’s coastal areas.
In a separate interview with the Associated Press, Lessells said it was expected that the variant would soon become rapidly inland in Johannesburg, the largest city and the province of Gauteng.
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Lessells and other scientists in South Africa are now testing whether the vaccines will work against the variant, as well as protect the immunity of the past against other variants against the one.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.