As reported by CNN it's the news_copy the many feared: early data shows the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine may provide only "minimal protection" against mild to moderate illness caused by the coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa.
But this doesn't mean governments should throw out their AstraZeneca stockpiles. Experts say it's possible, and very likely, that the shot is still effective in preventing severe disease and death.
The news_copy could, however, be a major roadblock on the world's way out of the pandemic, which can't 'end' until the virus stops circulating widely.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is cheaper and easier to transport and store than some of the other vaccines approved for use to date and as such, was going to play a key part in combating the pandemic in low and middle-income countries. If the vaccine isn't effective enough against the new variant, it could deepen the already huge vaccination gap between the world's richest and poorest countries.
Thestudy from South Africa suggested that two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine provided "substantially reduced" protection against mild to moderate Covid-19 disease from the new virus variant first identified there, known as B.1.351.
The study has not yet been peer reviewed or published in full, so many unknowns remain. What we do know is that it included a relatively small number of volunteers who were predominantly young and healthy and therefore not likely to suffer from severe Covid-19 disease. That meant the study did not assess protection against severe disease, hospitalization and death and many experts have suggested it could still prevent these outcomes.
"In the medium term, what matters most is preventing more serious forms of Covid-19; and it is thought the AstraZeneca vaccine will do this," Dr Peter English, a consultant in communicable disease control, told the UK's Science Media Centre.
