UK Vaccine Deployment Minister, Nadhim Zahawi, said on Thursday that it is "very unlikely" that current COVID-19 vaccines will not work against the new variants of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that have been identified in the English city of Kent, South Africa or Brazil
LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th February, 2021) UK Vaccine Deployment Minister, Nadhim Zahawi, said on Thursday that it is "very unlikely" that current COVID-19 vaccines will not work against the new variants of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that have been identified in the English city of Kent, South Africa or Brazil.
"It's very unlikely the current vaccines won't be effective against new variants, whether in Kent or other variants, especially when it comes to severe illness and hospitalizations, so that is the good news," Zahawi told the Sky News broadcaster.
He stressed, however, that "there are 4,000 variants around the world of COVID now," so vaccine manufacturers like Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca/Oxford are looking at how they can improve their antidotes to make sure that they are ready for any strain.
Zahawi also claimed that the United Kingdom has the largest genome sequencing industry in the world and is keeping a "library" of all the variants.
"We are ready to be able to respond, whether in the autumn or beyond, to any challenge that the virus may present and produce the next vaccine so that we can always protect the United Kingdom and of course the rest of the world as well," the minister said.
Just over 10 million people in the United Kingdom have already received their first dose of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine as part of the government's plan to immunize 15 million people from the top four groups � over age 70, health workers and care home staff and clinically vulnerable patients � by mid-February.
