Speaking at a White House news briefing, the government’s top infectious disease expert warned that strains first identified in South Africa and Brazil could reduce the potency of the two vaccines now in use.
New variants of the coronavirus may make vaccines less effective against the disease, making it even more urgent to quickly inoculate the country and beat back the pandemic, Anthony Fauci said Thursday.
Speaking at a White House news briefing, the government’s top infectious disease expert warned that strains first identified in South Africa and Brazil could reduce the potency of the two vaccines now in use. Fauci cited studies published online this week that have not yet been peer-reviewed, and said it would be important to monitor the mutations going forward.
Fauci emphasized, however, that existing vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna showed initial efficacy of roughly 95 percent — far greater than is needed to beat the pandemic. Even if the new variants reduce the vaccines’ potency they will still likely offer strong protection against infection, he said.
Another variant first spotted in the U.K. appears to make the virus more transmissible, the scientist said, which could overload U.S. hospitals if it becomes widespread here. So far roughly 20 states have detected the U.K. variant.
Taken together, Fauci said, the new strains highlight the need to quash the disease with an effective vaccine program as soon as possible. He said there are “alternative plans” if the need to modify the vaccine ever came up.
……..
- Discussion
-
New variants of the coronavirus may make vaccines less effective against the disease, making it even more urgent to quickly inoculate the country and beat back the pandemic, Dr. Fauci said todayhttps://t.co/1OJyCxj9rW
— POLITICO (@politico) January 22, 2021
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.