Washington – Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who previously headed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said on Sunday that COVID-19 vaccines “should be a throwback” against a new variant of coronavirus detected in the UK that has now been identified in the United States .
“The good news with B.1.1.7, if there is good news, is that as we vaccinate more of the population, this should be a barrier to the continued spread of this variant,” said Gottlieb of the UK strain in an interview. with “Face the Nation”.
New variants of the coronavirus have been identified in the UK, South Africa and Brazil and are now circulating around the world, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The UK variant, B.1.1.7., Was reported in 30 states, while the South African variant, B.1.351, and the Brazilian variant, P.1, were reported in South Carolina and Minnesota, respectively .
Gottlieb said there is evidence to suggest that the UK strain causes more serious illnesses and is about 50% more transmissible, but he noted that data from the Johnson & Johnson and Novavax COVID-19 vaccine trials that are developing the vaccine against coronavirus, show immunization and previous infection appears to be protective against the variant.
“Prior immunity and vaccines appear to be just as effective against this new variant,” he said. “So, as we further immunize the population and if people continue to wear masks and stay vigilant in those parts of the country, we can avoid that. It is not too late, but it is a real risk for these regions of the country, right now. “
Gottlieb predicted that there could be booster doses to protect against variants for the fall and said the FDA is working on a regulatory framework to allow vaccine boosters to be licensed.
“I think this structure will be mapped and the companies said they are already working on these new boosters. We could have them in time for the fall in all these vaccines. There is no reason why we cannot do this,” he said.
Gottlieb said there is unlikely to be a national epidemic with B.1.1.7 in spring and summer, although autumn poses a risk. Instead, he predicted that there will be regionalized epidemics, with California and South Florida the current hotspots. There are 113 reported cases of the UK variant in California and 125 cases reported in Florida, according to the CDC.
“These cities need to be very attentive to the spread of these variants,” he said.
There have been more than 26 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States and nearly 440,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. But the Biden government is warning that the death toll will exceed 500,000 and projecting that another 90,000 Americans will die from COVID-19 in the next four weeks.
Still, hospitalizations and the spread of COVID-19 appear to be slowing.
Gottlieb said the country has “the potential to turn the corner”, but acknowledged that the new variants create risks.
“Things are clearly looking up across the country,” he said. “We can’t get off the brake too quickly in terms of the things people are doing, like wearing masks and being more vigilant. That’s probably what is reducing infection rates across the country right now.”