Coronavirus variants cannot escape available COVID vaccines: Experts

New coronavirus strains may be more dangerous than the previous strains, but they cannot escape COVID-19 vaccines, say experts.

By: Arushi Bidhuri | | Updated: January 28, 2021 2:08 pm

Coronavirus variants cannot escape available COVID-19 vaccines: Experts

What started in Wuhan, China in December 2019 took over the world like a storm, affecting every sphere of our lives. Despite the decreasing number of coronavirus cases, people are still battling with the fear of the deadly disease. Ever since COVID-19 first came into being, scientists and researchers shifted their focus to developing an antidote that could eradicate the disease from the face of the earth. Also Read - Akshay Kumar, Piyush Mishra, Sonam Kapoor and more Bollywood celebs who opened up on facing sexual abuse in childhood

Finally, we saw some light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel in the form of vaccines that will help combat the rapid spread of the contagious disease. However, the emergence of the new UK strain and others made everyone question the efficacy of the new vaccines available. Are they effective enough to fight the new strain of coronavirus? But first, let us talk about the emerging COVID-19 variants. Also Read - Test Article 2 Covid 19 3rd wave

COVID-19 New Variants

Experts opine that mutations arise naturally in SARS-CoV-2, and new variants of the virus are expected to occur over time. So far, many coronavirus variants have been detected, four of these forms have gained worldwide attention including D614G (the variant that replaced the initial strain), Cluster 5, the UK variant (B.1.1.7), and South African variant (1.351). It may seem scary, but a new study suggests that the current vaccines remained effective against the variants of the COVID-19, which has infected over 100 million people across the globe. Also Read - COVID-19 Live Updates: Cases in India surge to 10,757,610 while death toll reaches 1,54,392 12d

COVID-19 Variants Cannot Escape Current Vaccines

Mark Cameron, who has been conducting COVID-19 and other infectious diseases as an associate professor at Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, CWRC School of Medicine, said, “Unfortunately, several recent mutations appear to have been beneficial to the virus by increasing its ability to infect us at lower exposures. Fortunately, the vaccine companies have been studying these variants closely, and there is no indication yet that these new variants can escape the current vaccines.”

Cameron also told media that the prime maker Moderna released data that suggests that blood from those vaccinated could completely neutralize the UK variant. “While there was some loss of neutralization power against the variant identified in South Africa, vaccine recipients could still fend it off. Of course, more work is being done to understand the extent and duration of immunity,” he added.

In fact, Us pharma giant Pfizer announced that their COVID-19 vaccine appears to work against new, more infectious UK and South African variants of the coronavirus.

The Vaccine Can Be Upgraded To Cover New Variants

Another speculation making people worry about the new variants is if the new strains are more dangerous than the previous strains. According to the expert, even though the new variant may be more dangerous and could be transmitted easily or cause greater damage after infection, it is not sure yet. “It could just be that the new variants are regaining access to our most vulnerable because of significantly increased transmissibility,” he continued.

He also pointed out that people still need to be as critical as ever to avoid the spread of infection and ramp-up of the vaccine’s rollout. Plus, the vaccines can be upgraded to cover the new variants. “The vaccines contain a message that our cells read to make a version of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that tells our immune system to respond later,” he added.

Published : January 28, 2021 10:12 am | Updated:January 28, 2021 2:08 pm

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