Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adanom Ghebreyesus commented on the suspension in South Africa of the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which, according to local scientists, showed low effectiveness against the new strain of coronavirus. TASS reports.
“This is news that clearly raises concerns,” he said. According to him, the results obtained in South Africa “are a reminder that everything possible must be done to reduce the circulation” of the coronavirus infection. Ghebreyesus added that the world must be prepared to adapt vaccines to remain effective.
Earlier it was reported that the South African authorities had suspended the implementation of a plan to vaccinate the population with a coronavirus vaccine produced by the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.
The fact that the British vaccine was ineffective against the COVID-19 strain from South Africa became known on February 7. The Financial Times analyzed the results for 2,000 people and found that an injection of the AstraZeneca vaccine probably did not provide protection for mild to moderate disease caused by the South African virus. At the same time, the effectiveness of the drug against a severe form of the disease and its effect on mortality when infected with the South African strain have not yet been investigated.