New strains of COVID-19 caused alarm and concern in the UK and South Africa, with many people concerned about mutations that could complicate vaccination efforts that have only recently begun.
At least one doctor, however, expressed optimism that newly developed vaccines could also be effective against mutant strains of the virus.
“There are good reasons to believe that vaccines will be effective,” said Dr. Uzma Syed on “CBS This Morning: Saturday”.
She continued, “In fact, manufacturers are testing them because the vaccine produces immunity in many different ways.”
The mutant strain of viruses detected in the United Kingdom has forced up to 80 countries to close their borders with the island nation. The United States will require travelers there to present a negative COVID-19 test before boarding their flights.
Dr. Anthony Fauci was also asked about the new strain in an interview with Anne Marie Green of CBSN on Wednesday, and he also downplayed possible concerns.
“This vaccine doesn’t change … it doesn’t change like the flu [vaccine] does, “he said, expressing confidence that adjustments will be made if necessary.
He added that most viral mutations, such as those that normally occur with the flu virus, “have no relevant functional impact”.
Fauci also said that the flu has changed at a faster rate than COVID-19 appears, and the current Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are different from previous inoculations and are likely to resist these mutations.
Dr. Syed, who heads the COVID-19 task force at Good Samaritan Hospital on Long Island, New York, urged Americans to be more concerned with following COVID-19 health guidelines.
“The most important thing to remember is that the tools we have to combat transmission of this virus are still effective against this variant, and include wearing a mask, walking away socially and actually avoiding internal meetings with people who are outside your home, ” she said.
Syed’s advice comes at a time when post-pandemic travel hits a new record, with the TSA reporting that more than 7 million people were released for flights from U.S. airports in the week before Christmas.
Syed considered the increase in travel, along with the winter climate, to be “alarming”, forcing more meetings indoors.
“Our hospitals are already full of patients,” she said. “We want people to know that, with more than 300,000 who lost their lives, we are doing everything we can every day to save lives.”
Syed calls on those who need to travel to quarantine before and after their arrival.
“Having a negative test just before the trip doesn’t get rid of the infection,” she explained. “You may be incubating, you may have been exposed during the trip. So it is really prudent to remain in quarantine after reaching your destination for about two weeks.”