A drive-thru coronavirus test facility in Pretoria, South Africa.
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers / Bloomberg
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers / Bloomberg
A study by South African scientists on the new variant of the coronavirus, which leads to the resurgence of cases in the country, raises concerns about the effectiveness of vaccines and a new class of therapies.
Half of the blood samples taken from a small group of people who recovered from Covid-19 did not have the antibodies needed to protect against the 501Y.V2 strain identified last month, according to an article by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases in Africa. of the South. In the other half, the levels of antibodies were reduced and the risk of reinfection could not be determined, according to the institute.
New strains of the virus have also been identified in countries such as the United Kingdom and Brazil, leading to concerns that increasingly dangerous versions of the pathogen yet to come may prevent the global launch of vaccines.
The strain recently identified in Brazil “also has changes in key positions” shown in this study to “affect neutralizing antibodies”, the scientists said. “Our data suggest that this strain must also exhibit significant levels of neutralization resistance, making both strains of considerable public health concern. “
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The NICD findings may “foreshadow the reduced effectiveness of vaccines based on current spikes,” the scientists said. They also suggest that treatment with plasma from donors who have had the coronavirus may not be successful in those with this variant. The results were not peer-reviewed and were based on samples from 44 donors.
“These data highlight the need for increased and continuous surveillance and sequencing during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic,” said the authors, including Penny Moore, professor at NICD.
The tension that has arisen in South Africa is about 50% more communicable than previous versions, said Salim Abdool Karim, co-chairman of the Covid-19 ministerial advisory committee, in a presentation earlier this week. However, there is no evidence that it is more likely to cause hospitalization or death, he said.
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A separate study by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE have shown that the Covid-19 vaccine will protect against the new coronavirus variant that emerged in the UK. Scientists have previously said that many existing vaccines could be adapted to new strains, if necessary.
– With the help of Naomi Kresge
(Updates with small sample size and that the study was not peer-reviewed in the fifth paragraph)