AstraZeneca "Particularly Vulnerable" To South African Variant

Epidemiologist and advisor from the U.K. Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) Professor Neil Ferguson warned on Monday that the AstraZeneca vaccine is "particularly vulnerable" to the B.1.351 mutation, also known as the South African variant of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Last February, South Africa suspended the acquisition of AstraZeneca's vaccines after a study on health workers indicated that the vaccine was considered ineffective in preventing mild symptoms.

Moreover, an Oxford University study concluded that AstraZeneca triggers seven times fewer antibodies when faced with the South African variant than the original Zars-CoV-2.

"While we've done very well in the vaccination program so far, we're only about halfway through, and we're very dependant on the AstraZeneca vaccine at the moment. The AstraZeneca vaccine as we know is particularly vulnerable to the South African variant," Ferguson explained to the BBC.