A lab technician uses a single-channel pipette dropper to test the material during Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test processing in a laboratory in the Johannesburg, Dunkeld suburb of South Africa South, on Wednesday, February 10, 2021.
Waldo Swiegers | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Preliminary reports from South Africa show that people who have recovered from Covid-19 have been reinfected with a new, more contagious variant of the virus, World Health Organization officials said at a news conference on Friday.
The good news, however, is that vaccines developed to protect against the virus appear to reduce the severity of the disease in those who develop Covid-19, even if it does not completely protect them from infection, said WHO chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan.
“THE [vaccine] trials that have been done so far in South Africa, as well as in Brazil with different candidates, have shown complete protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death. There was not a single case reported in any of the trials, “she said.
Vaccination may also slow the spread of new Covid variants, according to the WHO.
“There are reports now that if you get the vaccine and become infected, your viral load is much less. Therefore, the chances of infecting other people may be less, ”said Swaminathan.
Previous Covid infection produces antibodies and cell-mediated immunity that prevent reinfection, the scientists found. Vaccination also helps individuals to create protection against the virus.
But researchers continue to study the extent to which previous infection and vaccination protect against new, more infectious variants of the coronavirus.
The increase in vaccination efforts alone is likely to be insufficient to control the spread of the coronavirus strain originating in the UK, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, told CNBC on Thursday. Gottlieb said a combination of warmer weather and increased vaccinations could help contain the variant.
Swaminathan at the WHO Friday briefing emphasized the importance of vaccinated individuals continuing to take precautions such as wearing a mask, hand washing and social distance to control the spread of the virus.