Will COVID-19 vaccines work on the new coronavirus variant?
Experts believe so, but are working to confirm this.
A variant of coronavirus in the United Kingdom has raised alarm over the possibility of spreading more easily. But even if that is true, experts say the COVID-19 vaccines being launched are likely to still work in the variant.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading infectious disease specialist in the United States, said data from Britain indicate that vaccines will still block the virus. But the United States will also run tests to be sure.
Viruses usually undergo small changes as they reproduce and move through a population. In fact, small changes are how scientists track the spread of a virus from place to place.
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But if a virus mutates significantly, one concern is that current vaccines no longer offer as much protection. And although it is a possibility to watch over time with the coronavirus, experts say they do not believe that it will be the case with the variant in the UK.
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“My expectation is that this is not a problem,” said Moncef Slaoui, the United States government’s leading scientific adviser for the advancement of the COVID-19 vaccine.