Vaccination could give mutant strains an advantage20 Feb 2021 12:06
'Just one dose of a Covid vaccine cuts transmissions and virus infections by two-thirds, new data shows, but scientists warn the South African and other variants could still be an issue.'
'The transmission figures are “assuming that the vaccine works effectively in preventing transmission of all of the different strains”.
“There is a chance that that virus could have a transmission advantage” especially in a population thats immunity is only partial, Professor Ball (Notts Team Covidity) said. This could mean that the immunity generated from vaccination or from natural infection “may not have the same level of impact on not just South African variant, but other variants which seem to be emerging and having this resistance to antibody killing”.
“I think it’s incredibly important for us to continue to monitor what is happening, especially with how frequently these variants are emerging. And I think it is particularly important, given the fact that we’ve extended the vaccine interval, from the three to four weeks, to 10 to 12 weeks,” he said.
“It does mean that we have more people for a longer period of time only with partial levels of protection. And so that’s why it’s important for us to continue to try and suppress as much of the virus as possible.”
'But there is still hope. Professor Griffin said that although antibodies in the body may work less, “we usually retain a diverse and broadly acting response that can make up for their loss of activity”.
“Moreover, our 'T CELLS', which kill virus infected cells, should be largely unaffected by these changes, so severe disease should remain less likely.”
https://inews.co.uk/news/health/covid-vaccine-new-cases-rate-england-phe-data-south-african-variant-latest-879032
#NextGenVax could do with bringing in T cells I reckon
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