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Monday, December 21, 2020
The head of Biontech is not yet vaccinated
Sahin wants to address the virus mutation
The possibly most contagious variant of the England virus is causing a stir around the world. But vaccine developers are already preparing for their own tests to ensure the effectiveness of their vaccines. The head of Biontech is confident that his media will continue to help. However, he himself has not yet been vaccinated.
Mainz company Biontech will investigate Britain’s new coronavirus mutation in the coming days. The head of the company, Ugur Sahin, announced that night in an interview with the newspaper “Bild”. He noted that previously examined mutations of the pathogen had not affected the vaccine produced by his company in collaboration with the US company Pfizer. He is confident that the Biontech vaccine will also work with the Great Britain mutation. The drug had recently been approved by the EU.
According to Biontech, the vaccine is marketed in the EU under the name Comirnaty. The name combines the words Covid-19, mRNA (name of the messenger molecule), Community (community in English) and “Immunity” (immunity). With the name, the company wants to highlight the first approval of a vaccine based on messenger RNA (mRNA). Furthermore, the name should underscore the joint efforts that this approval would now have made possible.
He has not been vaccinated yet, but would like to, the Biontech chief said. However, you want to wait until it is your turn as per the official requirements. With a view to the planned vaccination campaign, Sahin said a reduction in hospital treatments could be achieved in Germany by early April. Immunization of the population is possible in late summer. The head of Biontech means the so-called herd immunity. This is achieved when between 60 and 70 percent of the population is resistant to the virus. Sahin said 1.3 million doses of vaccines should be delivered in Germany by the end of the month. His company plans to produce more than 1.3 billion doses of vaccines.
Speculation: Does the variant infect children more easily?
British scientists had previously speculated that the British variant could possibly be more contagious to children than the earlier lines. “There is some evidence that it has a greater tendency to infect children,” says Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London, a member of the Nervtag think tank that advises the London government. The exact mechanism is not yet clear. “But we can see it from the data.” According to her colleague Wendy Barclay, some mutations affect the way the virus enters a cell. This could mean that “children can become as susceptible to this virus as adults.”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the spread of the virus mutation is not yet out of control. “Even if the virus spreads a little more efficiently now, it can be stopped,” said WHO director of medical emergencies Michael Ryan. The situation “is not out of control.” However, Ryan called for steps to be taken to contain the new mutation.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said over the weekend that the mutation that occurred in south-east England was “up to 70 percent more contagious” than the original variant of the corona virus. UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the new strain of the virus was “out of control”. WHO expects more information on the virus variant in the coming days and weeks. Corresponding studies have been carried out, says WHO expert Maria Van Kerkhove. Based on Britain’s findings so far, there is no evidence of a more severe course after an infection.
