Americans should be vaccinated as soon as possible when their turn is due, and should not wait for the next generation of vaccines in the hope of greater protection against variants, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the foremost infectious disease expert.
“You need to get vaccinated as soon as it becomes available, as soon as possible across the country,” Fauci said during a briefing from the White House COVID-19 Response Team on Monday. “The reason is that there is a fact that is pervading virology, that is, viruses cannot mutate if they don’t replicate.”
Widespread vaccination prevents the SARS-CoV-2 virus from having an “open playing field,” Fauci said. Rapid vaccinations can protect people from disease and infection and prevent emerging strains in the US and beyond.
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Early data suggests that vaccines will remain effective against variants, although one strain in particular, first discovered in South Africa, has reduced vaccine efficacy.
Moderna, for example, announced last week that the results of the trial showed no significant impact on the effectiveness of the vaccine to neutralize the virus, despite the introduction of new variants, according to a press release. However, the company will continue plans to test a booster shot “to further increase neutralizing titers against emerging strains,” and to develop another variant of the booster candidate, specifically against the South African variant.
Pfizer and BioNTech already expressed confidence in their COVID-19 vaccine’s ability to protect against new variants and previously praised flexibility in the mRNA vaccine platform to modify vaccines as needed.
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Meanwhile, new results from a vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson showed that the shot was 72% effective in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 in the US, but fell to 66% in a larger global trial.
J&J hopes its candidate vaccine will be effective against variant strains, and the company plans to file an emergency use permit (EUA) permit in the US in early February, with the product ready for shipment immediately upon approval.
Another vaccine in the pipeline, developed by Novavax, underscored the South African tribe’s ability to reduce vaccine efficacy. Recent Novavax findings reveal that the vaccine is 89% effective against COVID-19 disease, but plummeted to 60% among trial volunteers in South Africa. Overall, protection against the South African variant was 49%, the company said.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said people can take several steps to protect themselves from variants amid a high number of cases and emerging strains.
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“Wear a mask first, stay six feet apart when you are in public and around others who do not live in your household,” Walensky said during the briefing. Second, please avoid crowds and poorly ventilated areas. Third, now is not the time to travel, but if you must travel, wear a mask and follow other CDC and local guidelines to protect yourself and others while you travel. And finally, please get vaccinated when it’s your turn. “
Health officials’ guidelines haven’t shifted amid emerging variants, but officials have urged the public to double down on these restrictive measures to protect against the new virus and its emerging strains.
Alexandria Hein of Fox News contributed to this article.