JOHANNESBURG – A new variant of the coronavirus emerging in South Africa could make the existing Covid-19 vaccines less effective, but are unlikely to be completely resistant to the injections, said leading researchers who have the mutations and the vaccines studied.
The variant, which has already shown up in patients in Europe and other African countries, has quickly become the predominant one in South Africa, exacerbating a second wave of infections that overwhelms hospitals and pushing daily deaths to record highs.
South African researchers are rushing to determine whether it makes patients more seriously ill than other variants of the virus. They are also testing how it responds to antibodies from people who have recovered from Covid-19 and those who have received coronavirus vaccines.
Researchers around the world are eagerly awaiting their official conclusions, as one of the variant mutations in previous lab experiments has shown increased resistance to some of the antibodies the body uses to fight Covid-19. British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said earlier this week that he was “incredibly concerned about the South African variant”.
But scientists who worked on the antibody experiments and the lead investigators of several vaccine studies being conducted in South Africa say that – based on their understanding of the virus and the immune response triggered by the injections – the immunizations should still work. against the new variant, although perhaps not as effective.