World faces around 4,000 Covid variants
Says UK; researchers explore mixing Pfizer, AstraZeneca doses to improve vaccines Agencies Agencies
The world faces around 4,000 variants of the virus that causes Covid-19, prompting a race to improve vaccines, Britain said yesterday, as researchers began to explore mixing doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca shots in a world first.
Thousands of variants have been documented as the virus mutates, including the so-called British, South African and Brazilian variants which appear to spread more swiftly than others.
British Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi said it was very unlikely that the current vaccines would not work against the new variants.
The St Kitts Nevis Observer
LONDON (Reuters) – The world faces around 4,000 variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, prompting a race to improve vaccines, Britain said on Thursday, as researchers began to explore mixing doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca shots.
Thousands of variants have been documented as the virus mutates, including the so-called British, South African and Brazilian variants which appear to spread more swiftly than others.
British Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi said it was very unlikely that the current vaccines would not work against the new variants.
“Its very unlikely that the current vaccine won’t be effective on the variants whether in Kent or other variants especially when it comes to severe illness and hospitalisation,” Zahawi told Sky News.
Mixed shots explored as world faces around 4,000 variants
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UK says vaccines likely to work on different variants
published : 4 Feb 2021 at 16:25
9 A health worker receives an injection with her second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at Enfermera Isabel Zendal new pandemic hospital in Madrid on Thursday. (Reuters photo)
LONDON: The world faces around 4,000 variants of the virus that causes Covid-19, prompting a race to improve vaccines, Britain said on Thursday, as researchers began to explore mixing doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca shots.
Thousands of variants have been documented as the virus mutates, including the so-called British, South African and Brazilian variants which appear to spread more swiftly than others.
There are 4,000 variants of coronavirus that causes Covid-19, says UK Minister
While thousands of variants have arisen as the virus mutates on replication, only a very small minority are likely to be important.
(REUTERS)
Guy Faulconbridge and Andy Bruce
, Reuters
Thousands of variants of the type of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 have been documented as the virus mutates
This includes the so-called British, South African and Brazilian variants which appear to spread more swiftly than others
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LONDON: There are around 4,000 variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 around the world now so all vaccine manufacturers including Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca Plc are trying to improve their vaccines, a British minister said.
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LONDON (Reuters) - British researchers are to explore mixing doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines in a world first trial aimed at finding new ways to swiftly reduce coronavirus infections as new mutated variants emerge.
While thousands of individual changes have arisen as the virus mutates on replication and evolves into new variants, only a tiny minority are likely to be important or change the virus in an appreciable way, according to the British Medical Journal.
Among coronavirus variants currently most concerning for scientists and public health experts are the so-called British, South African and Brazilian variants, which appear to spread more swiftly than others.