Transport Secretary Grant Shapps warns that virus mutation first recorded in South Africa is a ‘very big problem’.
A British minister has expressed concern that COVID-19 vaccines may not work properly against the new and highly transmissible variant of the coronavirus discovered in South Africa.
“The South African variant worries experts because it is possible that the vaccine does not react in the same way or work in the same way,” Transport Minister Grant Shapps told British LBC radio. “This South African variant – this is a major concern for scientists.”
His comments come as the world’s leading vaccine manufacturers are trying to see if their shots are working against new mutations in the new coronavirus, which occurs in South Africa and the United Kingdom.
British scientists have said that the variant found in the UK, which has become dominant in parts of England, is still susceptible to vaccines. This variant has also been found in the United States and other countries.
The variant first discovered in South Africa has an additional mutation called E484K, which scientists have on the point.
According to a laboratory study conducted by the American drug manufacturer Pfizer, it appears that the COVID-19 vaccine, made in collaboration with the German BioNTech firm, worked against a major mutation in both variants.
The study, which has not yet been evaluated by a peer, indicated that the vaccine is effective in neutralizing virus with the so-called N501Y mutation of the vein protein.
Phil Dormitzer, one of Pfizer’s top virus vaccine scientists, said it was “very reassuring to find that this mutation, which is one of the most common, does not appear to be a problem” for the vaccine.
Most vaccines rolled out around the world train the body to recognize and fight the ear protein. Pfizer is working with researchers from the University of Texas’ medical branch in Galveston for laboratory tests to see if the mutation affects the vaccine’s ability to do so.
They use blood samples from 20 people who received the vaccine. According to the study, which was posted on an online website for researchers on Thursday, antibodies from the vaccine recipients were successfully repelled by the virus in laboratory dishes.
‘Continuous monitoring of virus changes’
Viruses are constantly undergoing minor changes as they spread from person to person.
Scientists have used these minor modifications to track how the coronavirus has moved worldwide since it was first detected in China in December 2019.
The Pfizer study found that the vaccine appears to work against 15 possible virus mutations, but E484K was not among those tested.
Dormitzer said it’s next on the list.
He explained that if the virus eventually mutates enough that the vaccine needs to adapt, just as flu shots are adapted most years, that adapting the prescription for Pfizer or other vaccine manufacturers will not be difficult.
The vaccine is made with a piece of the virus genetic code, easy to switch, although it is not clear what kind of additional test regulators are needed to make such a change.
Dormitzer said it was only the beginning of an ongoing monitoring of virus changes to see if any of them could affect the impact on vaccine coverage ‘.
Anthony Fauci, the leading American expert in infectious diseases, recently said vaccines are designed to recognize multiple parts of the ear protein, making it unlikely that a single mutation could be enough to block it.