South African variant corona, “vaccine may not be useful”

Input 2021.01.05 10:36 | Revision 2021.01.05 10:48

It has been argued that the corona 19 variant virus originating in South Africa is more dangerous than the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) variant virus that emerged in the UK.

British Health Minister Matt Hancock said in an interview with the BBC on the 4th (local time), “I am very concerned about the South Asian mutation. This is a much bigger problem than the new virus in the UK.” On the 23rd of last month, the British government announced a ban on entry from South Africa, saying that the mutant virus from South Africa is stronger than the existing virus.

Dr. John Bell, a member of the UK government’s Vaccine Task Force, told Times Radio the day before, “I’m a little more concerned about mutations from South Africa than mutations from UK.” Analysis of genomic data revealed that the mutant virus was associated with a higher’viral load’. Viral load refers to the total amount of virus in the body and is closely related to the possibility of increased contagion.

Bell also feared that mutations from South Africa could not be prevented with the newly developed vaccine. However, he said, “We will not be able to completely neutralize the vaccine,” he said. “If the vaccine is not effective against the (South African) mutant virus, it will be redeveloped within a year.”

The U.K. mutant virus first appeared in September and now accounts for more than 60% of new confirmed cases in London and surrounding areas. It is known that it is 50-70% more contagious than the existing virus, and it has spread to 33 countries including Korea.

There are 10 countries in Europe that have been confirmed to have a mutant virus originating from the UK, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. A mutant virus has also been confirmed in Asia, including India, Japan, and Taiwan, and in Latin America, such as Brazil and Chile. In North America, the mutant virus has spread in the United States and Canada.

The mutant virus originating in South Africa is rapidly spreading around the coastal areas of South Africa. One confirmed person came out on the 3rd in Korea. The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes that the virus may have stronger transmission power than existing mutant viruses such as those from the UK.

South African scientists went into an urgent experiment today to see if a commercially available vaccine would also be effective against the native mutant virus. In South Africa, which has been experiencing a second wave since December of last year amid the emergence of the mutant virus, the number of confirmed cases and deaths is increasing faster than the peak of the first wave at the end of last July.