The growth of a dangerous Covid-19 variant has thrown South Africa's pandemic response into disarray, raising fears around the world that mutant strains could render the current generation of vaccines ineffective. #NBCNewsThreads (1/7) nbcnews.to/3pSMhLb
“What we are going to see is a cat-and-mouse game between virus changing and then vaccine manufacturers having to quickly change their vaccines,” says Devi Sridhar, professor of global public health at the Univ. of Edinburgh. (2/7) nbcnews.com/news/world/fig…
Signs of trouble came in October when doctors noticed a worrying rise in the number of Covid-19 infections, specifically around Nelson Mandela Bay, the eastern end of South Africa's coastline.
The variant has since been detected in more than 40 countries, including the US. (3/7)
The variant has since been detected in more than 40 countries, including the US. (3/7)
Scientists noticed a Covid-19 variant with troubling mutations to its spike protein, the part of a virus that enables it to enter human cells.
Current vaccines target the spike protein, but the mutations may make antibodies produced by the vaccines less effective. (4/7)
Current vaccines target the spike protein, but the mutations may make antibodies produced by the vaccines less effective. (4/7)
The mutations may also make people who previously had Covid-19 more susceptible to reinfection.
“It's possible that this variant is able to reinfect people and that may be contributing to how it’s spreading more efficiently through the population again,” a researcher says. (5/7)
“It's possible that this variant is able to reinfect people and that may be contributing to how it’s spreading more efficiently through the population again,” a researcher says. (5/7)
The mutations caused a serious setback for South Africa’s vaccine plans. A study found that the AstraZeneca vaccine is far less effective against the new variant, prompting the government to halt its rollout after it had already been purchased and scheduled to be given out. (6/7)
Now South Africa has switched gears, pegging its hopes on a single-dose shot developed by Johnson & Johnson that had been trialed more extensively in the country and showed better results against the new variant. (7/7) nbcnews.com/news/world/fig…
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
