Will COVID-19 Vaccine Be Effective Against The New Strain?

With countries like the UK and the US starting the process of vaccination against Covid-19, reports of a new strain found in the UK that can spread much faster than the dominant strain have raised many questions like whether the new strain has the ability to avoid vaccine-induced immunity.

This important question is raised at a time when India is also expected to approve the use of a Covid-19 vaccine soon.

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‘Health experts in India believe that the vaccine against COVID-19 will be effective against the new strain of the virus found in the UK that spreads much faster.’
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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) stated that the possibility of new SARS-CoV-2 strain could have the ability to evade vaccine-induced immunity is of great concern because once a large proportion of the population is vaccinated, "there will be immune pressure that could favor and accelerate emergence of such variants by selecting for escape mutants".

In an update last week NCIRD said, "There is no evidence that this is occurring, and most experts believe escape mutants are unlikely to emerge because of the nature of the virus.”

Companies like Pfizer and AstraZeneca have stated that their vaccines against Covid-19 should also work against the new strain, although results of the tests that prove the efficacy of these vaccines against the new strain have not come out.

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In a situation like this, question arises that should regulators in India wait to see proof of efficacy of Covid-19 vaccine against the new strain before approving one for use?

As it is natural for virus to mutate, health experts in India believe that approving vaccines that at least work against the dominant strain is the need of the hour.

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Puneet Khanna, HOD and consultant - Respiratory Medicine, HCMCT Manipal Hospitals in New Delhi said, "Theoretically speaking, the vaccines that Pfizer and AstraZeneca have rolled out they contain effective antibodies against the virus even if the strain is a different one. So ideally, they should work against the new strain. I think the vaccines, whenever they are available, should be given an approval for mass vaccination.”

Consultant Pulmonology at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute in New Delhi , Avi Kumar believes that the vaccination programme is very important and should be undertaken.

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Currently in India, eight COVID-19 vaccine candidates that include three indigenous vaccines are under different stages of clinical trials which will be ready for authorization in the future.

Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, Serum Institute-Oxford's Covishield and Pfizer vaccine are on the verge for emergency use authorization.

Akshay Budhraja, Consultant, Department of Pulmonology, Aakash Healthcare Super Speciality Hospital in New Delhi said, “There is no point in waiting and testing the vaccine's efficacy for the new strain. If the trials prove to be successful in efficacy and safety, it should be given a green signal for mass vaccination, without waiting.”

Source-Medindia