Former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb said on Sunday that existing coronavirus vaccines would likely be about 20 percent less effective against strains of the virus believed to have originated in South Africa and Brazil – but vaccines will still offer significant protection.
“I think there is a golden rule that we can assume that vaccines are likely to be about 20 percent less effective against these new variants from Brazil and South Africa, which have mutated some key regions of the protein that we target with our vaccines, ”Gottlieb, who sits on Pfizer’s board, said on CBS’s“ Face the Nation ”program.
However, Gottlieb added: “mRNA vaccines … are very effective. And so, even though we see a reduction in the effectiveness of these vaccines, and it may not be as deep with these vaccines, you are still getting very good protection with these vaccines.
“Vaccines are likely to be about 20% less effective”, against some of the new #Covid-19 strains – particularly the B1351 variant found in South Africa – but @ScottGottliebMD points out that vaccines are still effective. pic.twitter.com/ZAFc0F2EQc
– Face the nation (@FaceTheNation) February 7, 2021
Gottlieb continued that “we may also be able to develop in a timely manner, perhaps in four or six months, a consensus strain that is based on many of the different variations we see to have reinforcements available for the fall. So I think there is a reasonable chance that we will be able to stay ahead of this virus while it mutates. “
The former FDA chief added that he remains particularly concerned about the spread of another variant, which is believed to have originated in England, Florida and southern California.
“And although I don’t think that [Florida is] are going to have another outbreak of infection, they may have a persistent high infection because [the British strain] is gaining a better position in that part of the country, ”he added.