Amid efficacy concerns, Fauci reveals two 'promising' ways of boosting Covid-19 vaccines against variants

Fauci noted that the vaccine efficacy appears to be slightly diminished against B.1.351 variant first identified in a lab in South Africa.

Top US infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci on Wednesday said that there are two promising ways of boosting coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccines against variants of concern. Speaking at CNN’s New Day programme, Fauci said that a boost against the “regular virus” as well as a boost against the variant is “going to be promising.”

Dr Anthony Fauci said that a boost against the “regular virus” as well as a boost against the variant is “going to be promising.” (AP)

“Boost against the regular virus which will have a spillover and protect you against the variant, or specifically boost against the variant. And I think both of those are going to be promising,” Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN when asked about the US’ plan of giving people boosters against variants.

The 80-year-old immunologist’s comment on vaccine booster comes amid concerns over the efficacy of vaccines against new variants, particularly the one first detected in South Africa. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that it is still learning about the efficacy of vaccines against coronavirus variants. In its guidelines for fully vaccinated people, the CDC warned that the vaccines may work against some variants but could be less effective against others.

“We’re still learning how well Covid-19 vaccines keep people from spreading the disease. Early data show that the vaccines may help keep people from spreading Covid-19, but we are learning more as more people get vaccinated,” the federal agency added.

Fauci noted that while the antibodies induced by vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna are “quite effective” for B.1.1.7 variant first identified in the UK, the vaccine efficacy appears to be slightly diminished against B.1.351 variant first identified in a lab in South Africa. The B.1.1.7 is currently the dominant variant with its presence identified in at least 111 countries so far, followed by B.1.351 variant in 58 countries, according to the situation report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday.

“While many countries worldwide are currently experiencing a decline in overall SARS-CoV-2 infections, an increased number of reports of variants have been noted in a number of countries,” the report said.