COVID-19 vaccines would possibly supply safety in opposition to extreme illness whilst coronavirus variants evolve to higher permit continued transmission between folks, the top of the Oxford Vaccine Group Andrew Pollard mentioned on Wednesday.
Requested how efficient the Oxford/AstraZeneca will likely be in opposition to new variants, he mentioned “they’re making modifications that permit them to keep away from human immune responses, in order that they’ll nonetheless transmit.”
“So, that does imply that it’s doubtless over time that the virus will discover methods of adapting so that may proceed to cross between folks,” he instructed BBC TV.
“However that doesn’t imply that we gained’t nonetheless have safety in opposition to extreme illness… The virus is rather more in regards to the virus with the ability to proceed to outlive, somewhat than making an attempt to trigger hurt to us.”