So far, only six cases of a South African variant of the coronavirus have been reported in the U.S., but concern among experts is growing, as emerging data suggests available vaccines may not protect as well against it.
On Sunday, South Africa suspended its rollout of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after preliminary data found it provided only “minimal protection” against the new variant.
The results were a big “reality check,” said professor Shabir Madhi, director of the Vaccines & Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand, who conducted the trial. “We must recalibrate our expectations.”
AstraZeneca researchers say they’re working to tweak their vaccine by inserting a genetic sequence from the new variant.