Dr. Tom Inglesby, Director of the Health Security Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said on Sunday that while COVID-19 vaccines continue to be effective against current variants, this may not continue to be the case if if more variants emerge.
Inglesby downplayed concerns about recently discovered variants, particularly the South Africa variant, which reportedly had resistance to some treatments and possibly the vaccine itself.
“What we are seeing is that in the variant found in South Africa, at least in mild to moderate disease, some of the vaccine studies are showing decreased effectiveness,” Inglesby confirmed to Fox News Sunday presenter Chris Wallace, noting that “We still have enough cushioning with vaccines to be very effective in this respect.”
Dr. Tom Inglesby, Director of the Bloomberg School of Public Health at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, speaks during a briefing on developments in the new coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, from the medical and research team at Johns Hopkins University in Capitol on March 6, 2020 in Washington, DC (photo by Samuel Corum / Getty Images)
Inglesby warned, however, that “it is a message that says the virus is evolving and can continue to evolve in a way that makes it more dangerous – more transmissible or more lethal”.
Inglesby praised the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, however, saying it was an “incredible” development that provides a much needed boost as the country presses to vaccinate more people in an aggressive campaign.
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He also suggested that the tests for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine were responsible for the new variants – an element for which the previous Pfizer and Moderna vaccines could not have been tested – and which may have contributed to the less effective Johnson & vaccine. Johnson.
The vaccine also appears to improve in effectiveness over time, potentially reaching 85% protection against all strains after 28 days.
The vaccine may help to force schools to reopen. Experts point to “prevalence in the community” as the most important factor when considering whether or not schools should reopen, and more vaccines will help to decrease that prevalence.
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“As long as the prevalence of the disease in the community around them is not overwhelming,” Inglesby said of the school’s reopening. “And this is really encouraging news, but what we see is that schools that have resources can implement these things, and many schools in the country have been unable to implement them.”