Transport Secretary Grant Shapps warns that the first mutation in the virus in South Africa is a “very major concern”.
A British minister has expressed concern that COVID-19 vaccines may not work properly against the new and highly transmissible variant of coronavirus found in South Africa.
“The South African variant is of concern to experts, as the vaccine may not respond in the same way or work in the same way,” Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told LBC radio in the UK. “This variant from South Africa – this is a very big concern for scientists.”
His comments came as the world’s largest vaccine makers rush to see if their fires work against new mutations in the new coronavirus, found in South Africa and the United Kingdom.
British scientists said that the variant found in Britain, which has become dominant in parts of England, still seemed 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 has scientists on the edge.
According to a laboratory study conducted by the American doctor Pfizer, his COVID-19 vaccine, which was developed in collaboration with the German company BioNTech, seemed to act against a key mutation in both variants.
The study, which has not yet been evaluated by colleagues, indicated that the vaccine was effective in neutralizing the virus with the so-called N501Y mutation of the spike protein.
Phil Dormitzer, one of the best scientists in the field of the Pfizer viral vaccine, said it was “very reassuring to see that at least this mutation, which was one of the most concerned about humans, does not seem to be a problem” vaccine.
Most vaccines launched worldwide train the body to recognize the spike protein and fight it. Pfizer teamed up with researchers at the University of Texas at Galveston’s medical branch for laboratory tests to see if the mutation affected his vaccine’s ability to do so.
They used blood samples from 20 people who received the vaccine. Antibodies from those vaccine recipients have successfully removed the virus from laboratory vessels, according to the study, which was posted Thursday on an online site for researchers.
“Continuous monitoring of viral changes”
Viruses constantly undergo minor changes as they spread from person to person.
Scientists have used these slight changes to track how the coronavirus has traveled around the globe since it was first detected in China in December 2019.
The Pfizer study found that the vaccine appeared to work against 15 possible additional mutations in the virus, but E484K was not among those tested.
Dormitzer said he’s on the list.
He explained that if the virus eventually moves enough for the vaccine to be adjusted, just as flu vaccines are adjusted for most years, changing the prescription would not be difficult for Pfizer or other vaccine manufacturers.
The vaccine is made with part of the genetic code of the virus, easy to change, although it is not clear what kind of additional testing regulators would require to make such a change.
Dormitzer said this was just the beginning of “continuous monitoring of viral changes to see if any of them could have an impact on vaccine coverage.”
Anthony Fauci, America’s leading infectious disease expert, recently said vaccines are designed to recognize multiple parts of the spike protein, making a single mutation unlikely to be enough to block them.