This is the news that many feared: early data show that the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine can only provide “minimal protection” against mild to moderate disease caused by the coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa.
A study released Sunday from a university in South Africa suggested that two doses of Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine provided “substantially reduced” protection against mild to moderate Covid-19 disease from the new virus variant first identified there, known under the name of B.1.351.
South Africa has said it will discontinue the launch of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine after the launch of the study.
But that doesn’t mean governments should throw away their AstraZeneca stocks. Experts say it is possible – and very likely – that the shooting will still be effective in preventing severe disease and death.
The news could, however, be a major obstacle to the exit of the pandemic, which cannot be “finished” until the virus is no longer circulating widely.
This is because the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is cheaper and easier to transport and store than some of the other vaccines approved for use to date and, as such, would play a key role in combating the pandemic in low-income countries. and environments. If the vaccine is not effective enough against the new variant, it could already widen the huge vaccination gap between the richest and poorest countries in the world.
Less effective vaccines could force countries where new variants become dominant to change their vaccination strategy. Instead of trying to get the herd immunity, the focus could be on preventing as many deaths as possible even as the virus continues to circulate.
And while data from South Africa is undoubtedly an obstacle to vaccination campaigns, scientists are already working on updates to existing vaccines to make them more effective against new variants.
On Saturday, AstraZeneca said it was working with Oxford University to adapt the vaccine against variant B.1.351 and would advance it through clinical development to make it “ready for autumn delivery, if needed”.
Last month, Pfizer said it was “laying the groundwork” to create a vaccine booster that could respond to coronavirus variants.
“We see this all the time with the flu vaccine,” said Dr. Julian Tang, an honorary associate professor and clinical virologist at the University of Leicester. Influenza vaccines are adapted each year to target the most common virus strains. Sometimes the chosen vaccine does not match the strain that is becoming widespread.
“Improper vaccine seasons allow for more flu infections, morbidity and mortality – but to some extent, this is inevitable because the virus will always move first – then we will have to adjust our vaccines to match the new virus.” Tang added.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Monday that the flu plan could work for the coronavirus in the future.
“Jabul is updated every year based on the mutations and variations that have taken place and been observed in the last few months and which is manufactured during the summer and then delivered to the arms of the most vulnerable to the flu in the fall,” he said.
When it comes to Covid-19, he explained that we need to think about how to protect people in a similar way.
The good news is that developing a vaccine that would work against new variants does not mean starting from scratch, so updates may become available soon.
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