Current Covid-19 Vaccine Can Beat Brazilian Variants

London, Beritasatu.com- Don’t worry, the current Covid-19 vaccine can protect against the virus corona Brazilian variant. At least that is the conclusion of the researchers who conducted the study at the University of Oxford, England.

As reported Al Jazeera, On Thursday (18/3), scientists used blood samples from people with antibodies produced by Covid-19 infection and the Oxford-Astrazeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines that are being launched in the UK.

Virus variant corona with specific mutations in the protein spike is a concern because scientists fear it will reduce the vaccine’s efficacy, as well as the immunity acquired from previous infections.

The researchers said producing a vaccine against the South African variant should be the “greatest priority for developers”.

The data show a nearly threefold reduction in the rate of neutralization of the virus by the antibodies produced by the vaccine for the Brazilian P.1 variant. This is similar to the decline seen in the variant first identified in Kent, southeast England.

“These data suggest that natural and vaccine-induced antibodies can still neutralize these variants, but to a lesser extent. Importantly, the ‘Brazilian’ P1 variant may be less resistant to these antibodies than previously thought, “he said.

The study’s authors said development of a vaccine against the South African variant, known as B.1.351, should be “the greatest priority for vaccine developers globally”.

Andrew Pollard, the University of Oxford’s chief vaccine trial researcher, said the study provided “new insights that help stakeholders prepare to respond to further challenges to public health from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The study was released on a pre-print server and has not yet been peer-reviewed.

Source: BeritaSatu.com

– .