Moncef Slaoui
Photographer: Chris Kleponis / Polaris / Bloomberg
Photographer: Chris Kleponis / Polaris / Bloomberg
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The US does not have to suspend flights from the UK based on a coronavirus mutation that contributed to a emergency stop for London, a member of the White House virus task force said.
“I really don’t believe we need to do that yet,” Deputy Health Secretary Brett Giroir said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.
Giroir and Vivek Murthy, President Joe Biden’s choice of surgeon general, both expressed confidence that vaccines developed to combat Covid-19, two of which have already been approved for use in the US, will be effective against the mutated form of the virus.
It is not clear whether a more transmissible variant of the coronavirus that prompted the UK’s tighter restrictions has made its way to the US, said Moncef Slaoui, chief scientific advisor to the government’s vaccine acceleration program, Operation Warp Speed.
‘We do not know. We’re looking at that, ”Slaoui said on CNN’s State of the Union.
Giroir, a pediatrician by training, questioned the seriousness of the threat cited by British leaders, saying the coronavirus blamed on Covid-19 has mutated more than 4,000 times since its discovery.
“We don’t know if it’s more dangerous, and more importantly, we haven’t seen any mutations that would make it evade the vaccine,” he said. While that cannot be ruled out for the future, “I don’t think there should be any cause for concern at this point,” said Giroir.
Immunity question
The new variant can be as much as 70% more transferable, leading to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcing a lockdown for London and large parts of South East England on Saturday. He canceled plans to ease pandemic restrictions for five days over the holiday season, banned household mixing in London and the South East, and limited socializing to Christmas Day only in the rest of England.
Murthy said that while the mutation observed in the UK appears to be more easily transmissible, “we have no evidence yet that this is a more deadly virus to anyone who acquires it.”
“There is no reason to believe that the vaccines that have been developed will also be ineffective against this virus,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
The variant appears to be more contagious, but probably not more deadly, Scott Gottlieb, a former FDA commissioner under President Donald Trump and a Pfizer Inc. board member, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
It “probably won’t” be able to bypass immunity acquired by people who have had Covid-19 or bypass existing vaccines, Gottlieb said.
Vaccinate Trump?
Even as the variant becomes more widespread, Slaoui said the vaccines being rolled out now will protect against it. That includes the Moderna Inc. vaccine that has been received approval from US regulators Friday. Slaoui said the first Moderna shots are expected to be administered Monday.
Giroir urged Trump to get vaccinated against Covid-19 to promote the acceptance of immunization among his supporters, many of whom are believed to be skeptical about getting the photo.
“We have every reason to believe that these two vaccines are very effective and safe,” he said. “So I would encourage the president to get a vaccine for his own health and safety, as well as to instill more confidence in the people who follow him so closely.”
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen received the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech SE in a televised event at the White House on Friday. Several members of Congress were also vaccinated.