Coronavirus has mutated and some of its mutated strains, especially the S.African strain are hitting hundreds of people every day, but there is a bigger risk underneath. The new
Oxford AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine designed for original coronavirus has not shown promising results against this mutated version. It was thought that the vaccine will finally end the coronavirus pandemic but the mutation of strains has made it more complicated than it was before.
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Initially, the researchers were confident that the current vaccine will also provide protection against mutated strains. AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine has turned out minimally effective against the South African mutated coronavirus.
The research team from the University of Witwatersrand (Johannesburg) tried to understand the efficacy of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine on the mutated strain. The results showed that it offers minimal protection against the mild to moderate infections caused by mutated S.African strain. These results are soon to be published.
AstraZeneca declared that no one from these 2000 participants under this trial experienced severe infection symptoms. It means that the vaccine has ‘some’ effect on the body and is not fully ineffective. There is not enough data to unveil this effect yet but the company has announced to investigate it in detail and make the necessary changes in the vaccine formula to make it helpful against the mutated version as well.
The results of this current study are not peer-reviewed yet and are only based on the theoretical observations in the human cases of the South African coronavirus variant. These mutations have made it much more transmissible in communities, increasing the spread of infection even in the vaccinated communities.
This study didn’t assess the severe/chronic cases of COVID-19, hospitalizations, or documented deaths because the target population has a low risk of these things. Still, the developers of this vaccine say that these results are a little hopeful showing that the vaccine can still prevent death caused by the South African coronavirus variant.
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If not providing complete protection, the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is helping people to avoid hospitalizations, extreme symptoms, and deaths caused by a mutated version. The vaccine research group from Oxford, who developed this vaccine has shared their aim to study the mutated strain to make necessary adjustments in this current vaccine, making it effective against the S.African strain. The team also highlighted that their vaccine will still prevent severe infections and deaths.
This South African variant carries the maximum mutations in the original coronavirus, while other mutated strains such as the Brazilian strain are somewhat less deadly than this strain.
It is expected that AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine will update this vaccine and launch a modified vaccine within the next few months. Nearly 11 million people have received Covid-19 vaccination in the UK while it remains one of the worst-hit countries in Europe with more than 112,000 deaths. Only a speedy and effective vaccination plan can help to control this situation and if there is a modified vaccine available in time, more people can be saved.
