“You may not hear the existing vaccine against the South African corona mutant virus”

South African American Studies… “The antibodies formed in the past cannot mutate”

“In addition to antibodies, there are many elements of the immune system, so further tests need to be conducted”

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Ahn Yong-soo = Multiple studies have shown that antibodies generated after suffering from the initial novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) or after being vaccinated may be susceptible to a mutant virus from South Africa.

Medical staff preparing to get the COVID-19 vaccine
Medical staff preparing to get the COVID-19 vaccine

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This means that even if you get the COVID-19 vaccine, it does not end at once, but whenever major mutations such as the flu occur, a new vaccine may need to be developed and additional vaccinations may be required.

However, the test must be further conducted until the research results are verified.

The vaccine jointly developed by Bioentech and Pfizer has proven effective against mutant viruses originating in the UK, but there are no proven results for mutants in South Africa, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 22nd (local time).

As a new mutation emerges in the first year of the Corona 19 crisis, researchers around the world are also having difficulty tracking and identifying it.

In particular, concerns are growing when a mutant virus emerges in an area where a significant number of the population has been determined to have formed corona19 antibodies.

The mutant Corona 19 study was conducted by drawing blood from the corona 19 virus cultured in the laboratory and from subjects who were initially infected with Corona 19.

As a pre-release stage, WSJ reported that if clinical trial results come out within a few weeks in the UK and South Africa, it is possible to accurately understand how effective the vaccine is against mutant COVID-19.

Antibody research to block COVID-19
Antibody research to block COVID-19

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To date, mutations originating in South Africa have been found in 22 countries, including Canada, China, and Germany.

Researchers in South Africa have confirmed that the mutant virus completely neutralizes or is rarely affected by antibodies formed by infection with the existing Corona 19.

The study was conducted by confirming the antibody and mutant Corona 19 virus reaction results obtained from patients infected in the first outbreak.

Another study in South Africa focused on the mutant virus’s spike protein, and 21 out of 44 antibodies from early COVID-19 infections failed to fight the mutant virus.

It is said that only three types of antibodies extracted from severe corona19 patients in the past effectively blocked the mutant virus.

The researchers concluded that, along with the possibility of reinfection of Corona 19, the effectiveness of existing vaccines manufactured by neutralizing the spike protein on the surface of the virus may be less effective.

Apart from the study in South Africa, Rockefeller University and California Institute of Technology conducted the study by extracting blood from Pfizer and Modena vaccinations.

Studies have shown that three major mutant viruses from South Africa can significantly reduce the effectiveness of antibodies formed by vaccination.

Corona 19 vaccine
Corona 19 vaccine

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As a result, researchers in the United States said that the virus situation should continue to be reflected so that Pfizer’s and Modena’s vaccines do not become less effective.

Modena declined to express its position on the study, but it has revealed that it is analyzing the effectiveness of various mutant viruses.

Pfizer said it is working on a mutant virus (E484K) found in South Africa and Brazil, and will announce the results as they become available.

However, James Naismith, a professor at Oxford University, said, “The research in South Africa was done in a laboratory, so we have to observe the results in real situations.” “There are more elements that make up the immune system besides antibodies.”

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