New strains of COVID-19 caused alarm and concern in UK and South Africa, with many people worried, the mutations could complicate the vaccination efforts that have recently begun.
However, at least one doctor expressed optimism that newly developed vaccines could also be effective against mutant strains of the virus.
“There is good reason to believe that the vaccines will be effective,” Dr. Uzma Syed told CBS This Morning: Saturday.
She continued, “In fact, manufacturers are testing them because the vaccine produces immunity in many different ways.”
The mutant virus strain detected in the UK has forced up to 80 countries to close the borders of the island nation. The United States will ask passengers there to take a negative COVID-19 test before boarding the flight.
Dr. Anthony Fauci was also there asked about the new strain in an interview with CBSN’s Anne Marie Green on Wednesday and also downplayed possible concerns.
“This vaccine doesn’t drift … it doesn’t drift the way the flu does [vaccine] “, he said, expressing confidence that adjustments will be made if necessary.
He added that most viral mutations, such as those that normally occur with the flu virus, “have no relevant functional impact”.
Fauci also said that the flu has changed at a faster rate than COVID-19 seems, and the current Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are different from previous vaccinations and will probably resist these mutations.
Dr. Syed, who leads the COVID-19 working group at Good Samaritan Hospital in Long Island, New York, urged Americans to be more concerned with keeping up with COVID-19 health guidelines.
“The most important thing to remember is that the tools we have to combat the transmission of this virus are still effective against this variant, and these include wearing a mask, social distance and avoiding indoor meetings with people who are outside your household, “she said.
Syed’s advice comes as post-pandemic travel has reached a new level, with the TSA reporting that more than 7 million people have been authorized to fly from US airports in the week before Christmas.
Syed called the increase in travel along with the winter weather, which forced several meetings to be organized inside “alarmingly”.
“Our hospitals are already full of patients,” she said. “We want people to know that over 300,000 people have lost their lives, we are doing everything we can every day to save lives.”
Syed urges those who must travel in quarantine before and after their arrival.
“Having a negative test right before the trip doesn’t really eliminate your infection,” she explained. “You may have been incubated, perhaps you were exposed during the trip. So it is very prudent to continue in quarantine after you have reached your destination for about two weeks.”