Coronavirus vaccines may become obsolete over time due to the emergence of new strains of COVID-19 in the world. This was announced by the Washington University in St. Louis vaccinologist Michael Kinch, reports Bloomberg on February 13.
According to the specialist, now drug developers have the tools to modernize vaccines, but in the future, alternative approaches will be required to combat new strains.
Lead researcher at Oxford University Andrew Pollard agrees with Kinch’s conclusions. He noted that vaccine developers are looking for a universal drug that will resist different strains of the virus.
While the companies do not know exactly which mutations will begin to spread widely in the near future.
Also, scientists do not exclude that the virus will continue to change under the influence of human immunity.
On February 12, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that there is evidence of re-illnesses with new strains of COVID-19, despite the presence of antibodies to the virus.
It was noted that now scientists are conducting research on how much immunity from the virus is in people who have been ill. Moreover, among those who were vaccinated, the majority suffers the disease in a mild form.
In mid-December 2020, the UK announced the discovery of a new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus strain. The Advisory Board on New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats in the country confirmed that it is spreading at a faster rate and requires increased caution from the population.
The discovery of a new mutation of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in South Africa became known on December 19.