GENEVA (AP) – The head of the World Health Organization said Monday that the emergence of new COVID-19 variants raises questions about whether or not existing vaccines work, calling the “worrying news” that vaccines developed so far may less effective against the variant first discovered in South Africa.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference that South Africa’s decision on Sunday to suspend its vaccination campaign with the AstraZeneca vaccine is “a reminder that we must do everything we can to reduce the circulation of the virus with proven public health measures.”
He said it was becoming increasingly clear that vaccine manufacturers should modify their existing shots to address the ongoing genetic evolution of the coronavirus, and said booster shots would most likely be needed, especially as new variants of the virus are now spreading globally and likely. will be the predominant species.
Tedros added that WHO expected to make a decision “in the coming days” on whether to recommend an emergency listing for the AstraZeneca vaccine. That designation would allow millions of doses to be shipped to poor countries as part of a UN-backed effort to distribute COVID-19 vaccines worldwide, known as COVAX.
Last week, Tedros said more than three-quarters of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in just 10 countries, and immunization had yet to begin in nearly 130 countries. Despite the WHO’s goal of starting COVID-19 vaccination in poor countries at the same time as rich countries, COVAX has not delivered any vaccine doses anywhere.
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s chief scientist, said people from the South Africa decision should not conclude that the AstraZeneca vaccine is not working. She said all the evidence available to date shows that the vaccines developed so far reduce deaths, hospitalizations and serious illness.
Other COVID-19 vaccines developed by Novavax, Pfizer and BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson also appear to be less effective against the strain first identified in South Africa, although they can prevent serious diseases.
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