Urgent test in South Africa,’Corona vaccine is effective against mutation’

Urgent test in South Africa,’Corona vaccine is effective against mutation’

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Input 2021.01.05 06:37



A travel advisory message appears on the self-check-in device installed in Incheon Airport Terminal 1 on the afternoon of the 3rd, as cases of infection with the mutant virus, which is prevalent in the UK and South Africa, have been confirmed one after another in Korea.

South African scientists are conducting an emergency test to see if the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) vaccine is also effective for their own mutant virus, the Associated Press reported on the 4th (local time).

The genetic study follows British health minister Matt Hancock and other British experts concerned that the existing vaccine may not be effective against the South African COVID-19 mutation.

Dr. Richard Ressels, who is conducting research on mutant viruses in South Africa as an infectious disease expert, told the AP that “this is the most urgent issue we face,” and “We are urgently conducting experiments in the laboratory to test for mutations.”

The test method is to test the mutant virus in the blood of people who have the antibody and those who have been vaccinated. A test called a neutralizing potency test will help determine the vaccine’s reliability against mutations, Ressels added.

The South African mutant virus, named ‘501.V2’, is more contagious than the existing Corona 19 virus, and is rapidly becoming the main virus in the beach area. It is feared that this mutation will be spread rapidly in inland areas such as Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city, and nearby Gauteng.

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.

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