Reuters / FW1F / Alison Williams
AstraZeneca said its vaccine may provide only limited protection against the mild illness caused by the South African type of Covid-19 disease, based on early data from a trial.
A report by the “Financial Times” newspaper stated that the study conducted by the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa and the University of Oxford showed that the effect of the vaccine was significantly weak against the South African species.
A spokesperson for “AstraZeneca” said in response to the newspaper report: “In this second small trial of the first phase, early data showed limited efficacy against mild symptoms mainly caused by the variant B1.351 South African.”
He added, “But we were not able to properly confirm its effect against severe symptoms and hospitalization because the people who underwent the trial were mostly healthy adults.”
The company said it believed its vaccine could prevent severe symptoms, given that neutralizing antibody activity was similar to other Covid-19 vaccines.
Among the corona virus mutations that are currently worrying scientists and public health experts are the so-called British, South African and Brazilian variants, which seem to be spreading more quickly than others.
Source: “Reuters”
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