The Financial Times: AstraZeneca vaccine has limited effect against South African coronavirus



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Results of a study to be published Monday suggest that the vaccine may protect against the severe disease associated with the B.1.351 mutation, but it hardly prevents transmission of a milder form of infection.

However, researchers at the University of Oxford who contributed to the development of the vaccine and the University of the Witwatersrand noted that only about 2,000 people participated in the study. relatively young and healthy people, which means that the data may be inaccurate.

“We believe that our vaccine can protect against serious diseases because the activity of the neutralizing antibodies is equivalent to other COVID-19 vaccines that have shown activity against more serious diseases, especially when the dosing interval is optimized from 8 to 12 weeks,” he said the study report. .said an AstraZeneca spokesperson.

AstraZeneca, together with the University of Oxford, is looking at ways to update its vaccine to be effective against new mutations in the virus, most of which are much easier to spread and can lead to higher mortality.

However, this vaccine is effective against another known mutation that was originally discovered in the UK.

Studies show that the South African strain is more resistant to vaccines.

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