The medical staff is working inside a mobile testing unit in Ekurhuleni.
Photographer: Luca Sola / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Luca Sola / AFP / Getty Images
The new coronavirus strain that has appeared in South Africa is even more problematic than a mutant form that has caused new blockages in much of Britain, health officials said Monday.
“I am incredibly worried about the South African version,” British Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC on Monday, citing a Christmas holiday conversation with his South African counterpart. “One of the reasons I know they have a problem is that, like us, they have an excellent genomic scientific ability to study the details of the virus. And it’s even more of a problem than the new version in the UK. “
South African The variant causes a wave of infections in the country and, like the British strain, seems to be more infectious than previous mutations. However, there is still no evidence that the Covid-19 vaccines approved so far will not work against the new strains.
To say that the South African strain is more problematic than the British version is “politics rather than science” right now, said Richard Lessells, a specialist in infectious diseases at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Researchers must first do the necessary experiments to understand the new variants, he said. So far, officials have provided little evidence to support the idea that the South African strain is more problematic than the new one first identified in the UK, where cases are also on the rise.
The effectiveness of the vaccine is clearly one of the big questions that arises from the discovery of these new variables, and we understand that everyone wants answers right away, Lessells said. “But it takes a little time to get the answers.”
The images are likely to remain effective against the coronavirus variant in the UK, while questions about the South African version remain, John Bell, a professor at Oxford working with the British government on his vaccination program, told Times Radio on Sunday. Mutations are unlikely to completely “stop” effective vaccines, Bell said.
“We have a bit of a margin because vaccines work, I think, much better than any of us thought they would work,” he said. “We have room for maneuver. If it worked 20% less well due to a mutation, we would still have good vaccines. “
‘Cat and mouse’
Even if the new variants managed to evade vaccines, “it’s perfectly possible” to adapt and create new ones, possibly in six weeks, if necessary, Bell said. “We are now in a game of cat and mouse. These are not the only two options we will see. “
Young people under the age of 20 may also be more affected by the new British variant, researchers at Imperial College London said in a statement. preliminary analysis published on 31 December. It is too early to say why this could be the case, and the results could have been influenced by the fact that the blockade kept several adults at home, but schools were open, they said.
South African medical scientists are designing studies to determine the clinical impact of the new variant of coronavirus found in that country, said Glenda Gray, chair of the South African Medical Research Council.
South African doctors have seen anecdotal evidence that more young people without pre-existing conditions are seriously ill with the new version, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said last month.
There is no evidence that the South African version is more communicable or causes more severe disease than the British version, Mkhize said in a December 24 statement. The two variants developed independently and there is evidence that the British strain predates the South African one. , Said Mkhize.
Initial research indicates that the South African variant may be linked to a higher viral load than viruses previously circulating in the area, in accordance with The World Health Organization, although this is still under investigation. As of December 30, the variant had been reported in four other countries. The UK variant was found on a larger scale, with reports covering 31 other countries, territories and areas around the world.
Read more: Why the Coronavirus moved from the UK: QuickTake
– With the assistance of Antony Sguazzin
(Updates with scientist’s comments in the fourth paragraph, WHO in the last paragraph)