Transport Secretary Grant Shapps warns that the virus mutation first identified in South Africa is a “very big concern.”
A UK minister has expressed concern that COVID-19 vaccines may not work well against the new and highly transmissible variant of the coronavirus discovered in South Africa.
“The South African variant worries the experts because the vaccine may not respond or work the same way,” Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told British LBC radio. “This South African variety – this is a major concern for scientists.”
His comments came as the world’s leading vaccine makers rush to see if their shots work against new mutations of the new coronavirus found in South Africa and the United Kingdom.
British scientists have said that the variant found in the UK, which has become dominant in parts of England, still seems susceptible to vaccines. This variant has also been found in the United States and other countries.
The variant first discovered in South Africa has an additional mutation called E484K that puts scientists on edge.
According to a laboratory study conducted by the American drug company Pfizer, the COVID-19 vaccine, which was created in collaboration with the German BioNTech company, appeared to work against a major mutation in both variants.
The study, which has not yet been subject to peer review, indicated that the vaccine was effective in neutralizing the virus with the so-called N501Y mutation of the spike protein.
Phil Dormitzer, one of Pfizer’s top viral vaccine scientists, said it was “a very reassuring finding that at least this mutation, which is what people are most concerned about, doesn’t seem to be a problem” for the vaccine.
Most vaccines being rolled out around the world train the body to recognize and fight the spike protein. Pfizer worked with researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston for lab tests to see if the mutation affected the vaccine’s ability to do that.
They used blood samples from 20 people who had received the vaccine. Antibodies from those vaccine recipients have successfully fended off the virus in lab dishes, according to the study, which was posted to an online site for researchers Thursday.
‘Continuous monitoring of virus changes’
Viruses constantly undergo minor changes as they spread from person to person.
Scientists have used these small adjustments to track how the coronavirus has moved around the world since it was first discovered in China in December 2019.
The Pfizer study found that the vaccine appeared to work against 15 additional possible virus mutations, but E484K was not among those tested.
Dormitzer said it’s next on the list.
He explained that if the virus eventually mutates enough that the vaccine has to be modified, just as flu shots are modified most years, that adapting the recipe wouldn’t be difficult for Pfizer or other vaccine manufacturers.
The vaccine is made with a piece of the virus’s genetic code, which can be switched easily, although it is not clear what additional testing regulators would be needed to make such a change.
Dormitzer said this was just the beginning “of continuous monitoring of virus changes to see if they could affect vaccination coverage.”
Anthony Fauci, America’s top infectious disease expert, recently said vaccines are designed to recognize multiple parts of the spike protein, making it unlikely that a single mutation is enough to block them.