A study that showed that the AstraZeneca vaccine has little effect on the corona 19 mutant virus confirmed in South Africa has put an emergency on the Korean government.
As a result of a joint investigation of the efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine on 2026 South African citizens, the University of Oxford in the UK and the University of South Africa, the Wall Street Journal of the U.S. economy reported that it was not possible to prevent the onset of mild and moderate corona19. It was reported on the day (local time).
According to the media, the researchers conducted an experiment in which 19 people were given the AstraZeneca vaccine and 20 people were given a placebo. As a result, it was found that the AstraZeneca vaccine was only about 10% effective in protecting against mild and moderate corona19 infections.
The data of this study cannot be judged to be statistically significant because the sample is too small. Even so, the fact that the preventive effect is only 10% is enough to shock.
In fact, the South African government announced that it would suspend AstraZeneca vaccination plans until further information came out shortly after the results of the trials showing that the AstraZeneca vaccine was significantly less effective against the mutant virus.
Currently, the AstraZeneca vaccine is surrounded by controversy over whether vaccinations over the age of 65 are effective. In this situation, research results that show no effect on the mutant virus may inevitably interfere with the Korean government’s vaccination plan.
From the end of this month, the Korean government has announced that it will vaccinate medical staff such as doctors, nurses, hospital workers, and residents of nursing hospitals and facilities with a large number of elderly people over 65 years old. Among them, the elderly were trying to get the AstraZeneca vaccine. As the AstraZeneca vaccine has been controversial one after another, the possibility that the vaccination plan itself will be wrong cannot be ruled out. This means that if the vaccination plan for citizens over 65 is delayed, the group immunity will be delayed.
The South African mutant virus is also spreading in Korea. So far, of the 51 domestic mutant virus infections, 37 were in the UK, 9 in South Africa, and 5 in Brazil. There is a possibility that South African mutations are already spreading throughout the country. As a result of analyzing a sample of 56 confirmed corona19 from overseas, 12 people were confirmed to be infected with the mutant virus, of which 10 were from the UK and 2 were from South Africa.
The South African mutant virus is known to increase the likelihood of reinfection by neutralizing existing antibodies. Accordingly, some point out that a complete revision of the vaccine supply and demand plan is inevitable. If the government enforces the AstraZeneca vaccine as planned, there could be a controversy over equity from those who received the vaccine.
