South Africa strain ‘isn’t UK dominant virus’ says Van-Tam

South Africa moved to halt its rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine after a study in the country showed “disappointing results” in its efficacy against the nation’s new Covid variant. Scientists claim the variant now accounts for 90 percent of new cases in South Africa and the trial showed the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine offered “minimal protection” against the new variant.

England’s deputy chief medical officer today said the South African variant is not expected to become the UK’s most dominant strain in the next few months.

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said the South African variant has been detected in the UK “in very small numbers”.

He added Britain’s most dominant virus is the UK variant, first identified in Kent.

Speaking from Downing Street, Professor Van-Tam said: “There is no reason to think the South African variant will catch up or overtake our current virus in the next few months.”

He added there is “plenty of evidence” that the current vaccines are effective against the UK variant.

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The research prompting South Africa’s decision to halt the rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine showed it reduced mild-to-moderate COVID-19 by just 22 percent in a trial conducted by the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The South African Government had intended to deliver the vaccine to healthcare workers, after receiving a million doses produced by the Serum Institute of India last week.

South Africa’s health minister Zweli Mkhize said the South African variant is currently accounting for more than 90 percent of Covid cases in the country.

Speaking in an online briefing Mr Mkhize said: “The AstraZeneca vaccine will remain with us, up until the scientists give us clear indications as to what we need to do.”

South Africa has recorded almost 1.5 million coronavirus cases and more than 46,000 deaths since the pandemic began, which is a higher toll than any other country on the continent.

The trial’s chief investigator, Prof Shabir Madhi, said it showed that “unfortunately, the AstraZeneca vaccine does not work against mild and moderate illness”.

Professor Madhi said the study had not been able to investigate the vaccine’s efficacy in preventing more serious infections.

This was due to the fact participants had an average age of 31 and therefore did not represent the demographic most at risk of severe symptoms from the virus.

The vaccine’s similarity to one produced by Johnson and Johnson, which was found in a recent study to be highly effective at preventing severe disease in South Africa, suggested it would still prevent serious illness, according to Prof Madhi.

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Why is the South African variant less responsive to the Oxford-AstraZeneca variant?

All viruses mutate, which means they will change from the original strain.

The South Africa variant carries a mutation that appears to make it more contagious or easy to spread.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is created from a weakened version of an adenovirus from chimpanzees, which has been modified to look more like coronavirus.

Scientists take genes from the spike protein from the surface of the coronavirus and put them into a harmless virus to make a vaccine.

In the UK, some 147 cases of the South African variant have been identified so far.

However, experts have warned this is likely to be an inaccurate estimate because not all cases of COVID-19 are being sequenced.

Professor Van-Tam said the UK has the “largest amount of sequencing capacity anywhere in the world”. Although it is not possible to sequence every case at the moment due to the volume of new infections, he added there will come a point when “we will be able to sequence pretty much everything that we pick up”.

On February 8, Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Britons to remain optimistic about the coronavirus vaccines despite the new study.

Speaking to reporters from Derby, Mr Johnson said the Government remains “very confident” in all the Covid vaccines being delivered in the UK.

The PM said: “I think it’s important for people to bear in mind that all of them, we think, are effective in delivering a high degree of protection against serious illness and death, which is the most important thing.

“I’ve no doubt that vaccines generally are going to offer a way out.”

He added: “With every day that goes by, you can see that medicine is slowly getting the upper hand over the disease.”

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