Medical staff work inside a mobile testing unit in Ekurhuleni.
Photographer: Luca Sola / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Luca Sola / AFP / Getty Images
The new coronavirus strain that originated in South Africa is even more problematic than a mutated form that has led to new blockages in much of the UK, health authorities said on Monday.
“I am incredibly concerned about the South African variant,” British Health Minister Matt Hancock said on BBC radio on Monday, referring to a conversation over the Christmas holidays with his counterpart in South Africa. ‘One of the reasons they know they have a problem is because, like us, they have an excellent genomic scientific ability to study the details of the virus. And this is an even bigger problem than the British new variant. ‘
The South African causes a variety of infections in the country, and it seems like the British tribe is more contagious than previous mutations. There is still no evidence that the Covid-19 vaccines approved so far will not work against the new strains.
To say that the South African tribe is more problematic than the British variant is at this stage ‘political rather than science’, said Richard Lessells, a specialist in infectious diseases at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Researchers must first do the experiments to understand the new variants, he said. So far, officials have provided little evidence to support the idea that the South African tribe is more problematic than the new one first identified in the UK, where cases are also on the rise.
“Vaccine efficacy is clearly one of the big questions that arises when you discover these new variables, and we understand that everyone wants immediate answers,” Lessells said. “But it takes some time to get the answers.”
Shots are likely to remain effective against the British variant of the coronavirus, while questions about the South African version still exist, John Bell, an Oxford professor working with the British government on his vaccination program, told Times Radio on Sunday. said. The mutations are unlikely to completely eliminate the effective vaccines, Bell said.
“We have some space, because I think the vaccines work much better than one of us thought it would,” he said. “We do have some room to maneuver. If they work 20% less well due to a mutation, we will still have good vaccinations. ‘
“Cat and mouse”
Even if the new variants could evade the vaccines, it is entirely possible to adapt and make new ones, possibly within six weeks, if necessary, Bell said. ‘We’re in a game of cat and mouse now. These are not the only two variants we are going to see. ”
Young people under the age of 20 may also be more affected by the new UK variant, researchers from Imperial College London said in a preliminary analysis published on 31 December. It is too early to say why this may be the case, and the results may be influenced by the fact that the lockout keeps more adults at home, but schools were open, they said.
South African medical scientists are designing studies to determine the clinical impact of the new variant of the coronavirus found in that country, said Glenda Gray, president of the South African Council for Medical Research.
South African doctors have seen anecdotal evidence that more young people without conditions are becoming seriously ill with the new version, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said last month.
There is no evidence that the South African variant is more transmissible or causes worse diseases than the British variant, Mkhize said in a statement on December 24. The two variants developed independently, and there is evidence that the British tribe is ahead of the South African one. , Mkhize said.
Initial research suggests that the South African variant may be linked to a higher virus load than the viruses that have previously spread in the area, According to the World Health Organization, although still under investigation. On December 30, the variant was reported in four other countries. The UK variant has been found more widely, with reports spanning 31 other countries, territories and territories around the world.
Read more: Why the UK’s mutated coronavirus is so concerned: QuickTake
– Assisted by Antony Sguazzin
(Updates with comments from scientist in the fourth paragraph, WHO in final paragraph)