Dr. Scott Gottlieb explains why vaccinating Americans against Covid is critical, especially as the South Africa variant appears to inhibit antibody drugs.
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The coronavirus variant in South Africa seems to evade antibody drugs, which is very concerning, ex-FDA chief Scott Gottlieb says
The coronavirus variant in South Africa seems to evade antibody drugs, which is very concerning, ex-FDA chief Scott Gottlieb says
Dr. Catherine Schuster-BruceJan 6, 2021, 20:22 IST
Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb talks with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation in Washington DC March 8, 2020Chris Usher/CBS via Getty Images
Dr.
Scott Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, said Tuesday that a
coronavirus variant identified in South Africa was very concerning because it might get around antibody drugs that try to help the body fight infection.
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Though COVID-19 vaccines will likely render effective against the South African coronavirus variant according to an infectious disease expert the former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the strain may obviate other countermeasures, including antibody drugs.
The South African virus variant, known as 501Y.V2, has sparked serious concern, and the strain has already been described as more infectious than the COVID-19 virus identified at the start of the pandemic. In South Africa, it has rapidly become dominant in the country’s coastal areas.
By
Jan 06, 2021 06:31 AM EST
One more strain called the South African COVID-19 variant has one side-effect that needs to be confirmed. A scientist states that it might cause antibody drugs as useless medication.
Viruses mutate all the time; some mutation is good or bad for it. Recently, the UK variant arose that is more infectious, not necessarily fatal. The South African strain is active in several places globally, and it has one more surprise for everyone.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb said that vaccinations had taken a new urgency as the strain from South Africa could negate the effects of antibody drugs. How the strain and the genome occurred is yet to be determined by scientists, reported CNBC.
Britain is putting vulnerable people at risk from mutant variants of the coronavirus by delaying the second dose of the vaccine, according to South Africa s top adviser on immunisations.
South Africa is suffering a sharp spike in cases, driven by a new variant that may reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.
That threat has been underlined by new lab tests showing that antibodies may be at least 10 times less effective against the new variant, which is separate to the mutation that was originally identified in England.
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