Covid-19: Two new vaccines show less efficacy against South African strain

Data from two new coronavirus vaccine trials have revealed that they have less efficacy in protecting the people from the new South African variant. The trials from Novavax and Johnson & Johnson vaccine indicated that their vaccines have less efficacy. Novavax’s trial showed the efficacy at 50 per cent, Johnson & Johnson said a single shot of its vaccine had 66 per cent. 

According to reports by Guardian, Dr Dan Barouch, a researcher at Harvard University medical school’s Beth Israel Deaconess medical centre in Boston, who also helped with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine said that the new variant means that this is a different pandemic now. Also, the Serum Institute of India (SII) has now sought the Drug Controller's permission to conduct the bridging study for the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine candidate in India. The pharmaceutical firm has applied for the permission of the Novavax vaccine candidate, just a day after the American firm released data of its UK trial, revealing that the vaccine had an efficacy of 89 per cent. 

Read: New COVID-19 Variant Detected In South Africa: Everything You Need To Know About It

The Novavax COVID vaccine candidate, named - NVX-CoV2373 - is a protein-based vaccine, which is now being examined by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for its trial. The Serum Institute, which is already mass-producing Covishield - developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca - in India, plans to begin bulk production of the Novavax vaccine from April. The Indian pharmaceutical firm has also received funding from GAVI - The Vaccine Alliance - for pre-producing and stockpiling the vaccine candidate at risk, similar to the way it did with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in India. 

South African variant 

During late December, another variant of the existing genome of the coronavirus was detected in South Africa, the health ministry announced last week. As per reports, the new 501.V2 variant in South Africa is also being linked to the drastic speed of transmission of the second wave that also infects younger patients. South African Health Minister Zwelini Mkhize reportedly also said the new strain has been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO).

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Even though pathogens mutate all the time and it is also a well-known fact among the scientists, the variant spreading in Britain is named VUI-202012/01 is currently determined to be 70 per cent more infectious than the existing version. Therefore, it has raised fears of overlapping the current virus which has already rocked the world. However, the new variant in South Africa is also causing a reportedly shift in the epidemiological landscape of the country.

Read: 'Wake Up Call': Fauci Alarmed Over COVID Shots' Diminished Results Against Mutated Virus

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(Image Credits: AP)