JOHANNESBURG – A new variant of coronavirus growing in South Africa may make existing Covid-19 vaccines less effective, but unlikely to be fully resistant to vaccines, according to top researchers who have studied mutations and vaccines .
The variant, which has already appeared in patients in Europe and other African countries, quickly became the predominant one in South Africa, exacerbating a second wave of infections that overwhelmed hospitals and caused daily deaths to peak.
Researchers in South Africa are struggling to determine if it makes patients sicker than other variants of the virus. They also test how they react to antibodies in people who have recovered from Covid-19 and those who have received coronavirus vaccines.
Their official findings are eagerly awaited by researchers around the world, as one of the mutations in the variant has shown in previous laboratory experiments increased resistance to some of the antibodies the body uses to fight Covid-19. UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said earlier this week that he was “incredibly concerned about the South African version”.
But scientists who have worked on antibody experiments and lead researchers of several vaccine studies in South Africa say that – based on their understanding of the virus and the immune response triggered by vaccines – immunizations should work in continue against the new variant, although it may not be as effective.