LONDON: Developers of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to have a custom stitch around the South Africa coronavirus variant by fall, the vaccine researcher said Sunday.
Health officials in Britain are trying to limit the spread of the variant first identified in South Africa amid concerns that it is more contagious or resistant to existing vaccines. More than 100 cases of the South African variant have been found in the United Kingdom.
Sarah Gilbert, lead researcher for the Oxford team, told the BBC on Sunday that “we have a version with the South African peak order in the works.”
“It looks very likely that we will have a new version ready in the fall,” she added.
Her comments come as Oxford University said that early data from a small study indicate that the Vaccination against AstraZeneca offers only ‘minimal protection’ against mild diseases caused by the South African variant.
The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, involved 2,000 people, most of whom were young and healthy. The average age of the volunteers was 31.
“Protection against moderate-to-severe illness, hospitalization or death could not be assessed in this study, as the target population was at such a low risk,” Oxford University said.
Robin Shattock, a scientist leading the coronavirus vaccine research at Imperial College London, has called for caution in the early findings of the study. But he said it was “to some extent worrying that we see that it is not effective against mild to moderate diseases.”
Authorities in England conducted Covid-19 testing from house to house last week in eight areas where the South African variant is believed to be spreading, after a handful of cases were found in people who had no contact with the country, or anyone who traveled there.
The test flash is an attempt to eliminate the variant before it spreads widely and undermines the vaccination of the U. Public health officials are concerned about the South African variant because it contains a mutation of the characteristic ear protein of the virus, which is targeted by existing vaccinations.
Britain has seen the deadliest coronavirus outbreak in Europe, with more than 112,000 confirmed deaths, but they have embarked on a faster vaccination plan than the neighboring European Union. To date, the UK has given a first coronavirus vaccine to around 11.5 million people.
