Studies reveal the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines against the South African strain of Corona
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| Studies reveal the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines against the South African strain of Corona |
A study confirms that the AstraZeneca vaccine is ineffective against the South African Corona strain
A study in South Africa revealed that the protection rate of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against the new Corona virus strain, which appeared in South Africa, does not exceed 10%, according to the Guardian newspaper.
Scientists at the University of Wittwatersrand in Johannesburg, who conducted the experiment, said the results were disappointing, and they added, "The preliminary results seem to confirm that the mutant observed in South Africa can be transmitted to people who received the vaccine."
In recent hours, South Africa announced the suspension of the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine due to its ineffectiveness against the new strain.
Professor Shabir Maddy, of the University of the Witwatersrand who led the trial, said that although the study was small, it was designed to focus on determining whether the vaccine had at least 60% effectiveness.
"The results showed that the protection rate is 10%. This is clearly very far from the 60% mark, and even if you have a larger study, you are unlikely to get a vaccine efficacy of 40 or 50%," he added.
And Oxford University researcher Sarah Gilbert confirmed, on Sunday, that the British vaccine developed by the AstraZeneca Laboratory in cooperation with Oxford is not effective against the South African mutated version of the Corona virus, but it may be effective against dangerous forms of the disease caused by the ancient strain of the virus.
The "Financial Times" newspaper quoted a spokesman for AstraZeneca, Friday, as saying that a study of 2,000 people showed that the British vaccine had "limited efficacy against moderate forms of the disease caused by the mutated version of South Africa." However, it may be effective against dangerous forms of disease caused by the ancient strain.
AstraZeneca said that the data, which has not yet been subjected to review, "seems to confirm the theoretical observation that the mutations in the virus that were detected in South Africa would allow the continuous transmission of the virus among the vaccinated groups."
"It was not possible in this study to assess protection from moderate and severe disease, admission to hospital, or death because the targeted people were exposed to a low level of risk," she added.
Other countries and the European Union have approved the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. However, some countries preferred to use it exclusively for those under the age of 65, due to the lack of sufficient data on the elderly.
While the tests found that the Pfizer / Biotec vaccine provides great protection against this new mutation, known as E484K, tests conducted by Texas collectors on 20 people who received the vaccine confirmed that the percentage of antibodies in the body reached 81% and are effective against the old and changing strain of the virus .