GlobalHealth Threats

In an analysis submitted but not yet peer reviewed, researchers from the University of Witwatersrand and others in South Africa and the University of Oxford, UK looked at data from approximately 2,000 volunteers, average age 31 years, mild disease was defined as at least one symptom of COVID-19. They found that a two dose regime of the Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccine provided minimal protection against mild-moderate COVID-19 infection with the B.1.351 variant. How effective the vaccine was against severe infection was not assessed.

Work is already underway at the University of Oxford and in conjunction with partners to produce a 2^nd generation of the vaccine adapted to target variants of the coronavirus with mutations similar to B.1.351. Shabir Madhi, Professor of Vaccinology and Director of the Vaccines & Infectious Diseases Analytics (VIDA) Research Unit at University of the Witwatersrand, and Chief Investigator on the trial in South Africa said: "Recent data from a study in South Africa sponsored by Janssen which assessed moderate to severe disease, rather than mild disease, using a similar viral vector, indicated that protection against these important disease endpoints was preserved. These findings recalibrate thinking about how to approach the pandemic virus and shift the focus from the goal of herd immunity against transmission to the protection of all at risk individuals in population against severe disease."

Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford said: "Efforts are underway to develop a new generation of vaccines that will allow protection to be redirected to emerging variants as booster jabs, if it turns out that it is necessary to do so."