Scientists in the US military are analyzing a new strain of COVID-19 found in the UK and are investigating whether current vaccines are enough to combat it.
Scientists at the Walter Reed Army Research Institute began last week analyzing data to determine the degree of danger of the new mutant variant and to try to determine whether the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will fight the strain.
“Obviously, this mutation is not a threat, but it is never known,” Nelson Michael, a physician at the Infectious Diseases Research Center at the Walter Reed Army Research Institute, told CNN.
“We still have to be diligent and keep looking.”
The scientists began their research by doing a computer analysis of the new strain. If the results are of concern, laboratory and animal studies will be performed to determine whether the vaccine will work on this variant.
“Computer analysis will allow us to measure how careful we should be,” Michael said. “Other teams around the world are doing this analysis.”
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and are distributed in the United States. They work by creating genetic planes for the tips that appear on the surface of the original coronavirus. Then the immune system attacks those peaks.
So far, there have been no reports of the new strain in the United States.
Experts say that the viruses are always mutants, saying that the new strain will not necessarily cancel the current vaccine.
“Even with mutations, the virus remains essentially the same,” said William Schaffner, an adviser to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “It’s like being with a person. I can change my brown coat for a gray coat, but I’m still Bill Schaffner. I’ve changed something, but I’m still the same person.”
During a press conference in England on Saturday, when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new holiday blockades, Britain’s chief scientific adviser addressed the vaccines.
“Our current working assumption from all scientists is that the response to the vaccine should be appropriate for this virus,” said Dr. Patrick Vallance.
Related stories
© 2020 Newsmax. All rights reserved.