Rohit Bhattacharjee, Amity University, Kolkata.
The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine fails to prevent mild and moderate cases of the South African coronavirus strain. The University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, which conducted the in which they stated that the vaccine provided minimal protection against mild-moderate COVID-19 infection. The data, which has not yet undergone peer review appeared to confirm the theoretical observation that mutations in the virus seen in South Africa will allow ongoing transmission of the virus in vaccinated populations.
Protection against moderate-severe disease, hospitalization, or death could not be assessed in this study as the target population was at low risk. But the vaccine developers in Britain said informally that the results offered some hope that the vaccine could prevent deaths from the variant. AstraZeneca later told AFP that they believed that their vaccine would still protect against severe disease. Researchers are currently working to update the vaccine, and “have a version with the South African spike sequence in the works” that would much likely be ready for the autumn. UK vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said that the government’s tactic to combat the spread of the strain was to continue with its mass vaccination program. Britain is in the midst of a massive vaccination drive, which it sees as its way out of one of the worst outbreaks in the world. More than 11 million people are using either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Oxford/AstraZeneca shots. The AstraZeneca vaccine has been the source of an ugly row with the European Union. France, Germany, and Switzerland are also among the countries that are recommending the vaccine not be used for the elderly due to data shortage.
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Source:-https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-02-astrazeneca-vaccine-effective-safrican-strain.html
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