E-Paper
Astrazeneca Covid-19 vaccine effective against Delta variant found in India
AstraZeneca Plc's Covid-19 vaccine is effective against the highly transmissible Delta Covid-19 variant, first identified in India.
AstraZeneca Plc's Covid-19 vaccine is effective against the highly transmissible Delta Covid-19 variant, first identified in India, an official from the company said on Tuesday. The drug's efficacy against Kappa, another variant found in India, has also been proven, the official said.
A study by Oxford University investigated the ability of monoclonal antibodies in Sera from recovered people and from vaccinated people to neutralize the Delta and Kappa variants, a statement from the company said.
Drugmakers across the world are rushing to test the efficacy of drugs against the emerging variants of Covid-19 which are proving to be deadlier than the first strain of virus found to have infected humans.
An analysis by the Public Health England (PHE) showed that vaccines made by Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca offer high protection of more than 90% against hospitalization from the Delta variant.
The latest Oxford study results are built on the recent analysis by PHE, the company said.
The Delta variant is becoming the globally dominant version of the disease, the World Health Organization's chief scientist said on Friday.
A World Health Organization epidemiologist on Monday pointed out how Covid-19 vaccines are showing signs of reduced efficacy against the Delta variant of coronavirus variant. However, the vaccines are still found to be effective at preventing severe illness and death.
The WHO official added that in the future, there might be a "constellation of mutations" which means vaccines are likely to lose their potency against fighting the coronavirus.
The Delta plus variant has been formed due to a mutation in the Delta or B.1.617.2 variant, first identified in India and considered one of the drivers of the second wave in the country and also in several others including the UK.
The highly transmissible variant of the virus is listed as the fourth variant of concern by the WHO. The variant, as latest as Monday, poses a threat to the United Kingdom where the daily cases have shot up to more than 10,000 again.
