Johannesburg, South Africa – The new coronavirus variant identified in South Africa poses even more of a risk than the species discovered in England a few weeks ago, The British health official warned Monday. His alarm came when scientists warned that the new species raging through South African coastal communities could be resistant to the COVID-19 vaccines that have been approved or are pending approval in the US and Europe.
“I am incredibly concerned about the South African variant,” Health Minister Matt Hancock told BBC Radio. “This is a very, very big problem … it is even a bigger problem than the new variant in the UK.”
As the first doses of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine were outside of medical studies administered in a hospital in Oxford on MondayOxford senior immunologist Professor John Bell – who helped create the university’s prestigious vaccine – said there was a “big question mark” as to whether current versions of vaccines would work on the South African variant.
He said it was “unlikely” that the mutation would render the vaccines ineffective, but they may need modifications to provide as much protection against the strain as against the others already widely distributed elsewhere.
The lead investigator of the Oxford vaccine trial conducted in South Africa, Professor Shabir Madhi, told CBS News Monday that more than 13 variants of the coronavirus have been identified in the country since the start of the pandemic. He said the new one, 501.V2, which has spread like wildfire in the coastal cities of South Africa, is the most troubling mutation of the virus to date.
“It is not obvious that the vaccine will not work in this variant, but it is a consideration that the vaccine may not have full effectiveness,” he said.
Well-timed tasting
Both Oxford and US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson have conducted human trials of their vaccines in South Africa, including doses given since the new variant began to spread and be discovered.
“Those on our trial were given the second dose during the time of this new variant, which is extremely fortunate,” said Madhi, adding that he expected the relevant study results by the fourth week of January.
Glenda Gray, chair of the South African Medical Research Council and leader of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine research team, confirmed that their trial also included administering doses to participants during the outbreak of the new strain.
“It is fortunate that thanks to this timing we can see if there is any change with this new variant” in the efficacy of the vaccine, she said. Her team also expects results “by the end of this month”.
“This new variant may not slow down access to the vaccine, but it also means keeping an eye out for breakthrough infections,” she said, referring to the number of infections among those who received the vaccine.
Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine requires only one dose, unlike the Oxford and Pfizer vaccines approved for use in the UK, or the Moderna formula used in the US along with the Pfizer injections.
The Oxford vaccine was tested at seven different sites in South Africa among 2,100 volunteers, while about 45,000 people were involved in the Johnson and Johnson study.
So far, immunologists have raised little concern about the efficacy of the approved or pending vaccines against other mutations of the coronavirus, including a variant discovered in the London area late last year that has boosted infection rates in the UK.
Government scientists say the new British variant, like the South African variant, appears to be more easily transmitted between humans, but they expect it to respond to the vaccines in the same way as the more widespread versions of the disease.
South Africans waited
Meanwhile, South Africans are still waiting to find out when vaccines might become available in their country outside of the trials.
The country’s largest union has accused the government of “gross incompetence” with its plan to roll out vaccines. A group of leading scientists, including Glenda Gray, denounced the government in an opinion piece published on Sunday, saying it was an “amazing” lack of planning.
Within hours of the criticism, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize gave an online presentation outlining the government’s plan. He said the goal was to vaccinate two-thirds of South Africa’s 57 million people by the end of the year, starting in February.
“We’re aiming for at least 67% of the population to achieve herd immunity,” he said.
South Africa’s Ministry of Health has reported a total of 1.1 million COVID-19 cases nationwide, with a positivity rate of approximately 32% and nearly 30,000 confirmed deaths. It is the worst national coronavirus epidemic in Africa.