British health minister expresses concern over vaccine effectiveness against new South African variant of coronavirus

The new variant of the virus, which causes Covid-19 and has been detected in South Africa, is even more dangerous than its highly contagious British variant, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said today, adding that it was a “very important problem”.

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“I am incredibly concerned about the South African variant and that is why we have taken steps to restrict all flights from South Africa,” Hancock told BBC radio.

“This is a very, very important problem (…) and it is an even bigger problem than the new variant of the United Kingdom,”  he added.

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Moreover, the editor of ITV’s political reportage Robert Pesto said today, citing a scientific advisor of the British government without the names, that scientists are not sure that vaccines for Covid-19 will be effective against the new variant of the coronavirus found in South Africa.

• The new and dominant covid-19 mutation that infects 99.9% of cases in the US
• Scientists warn of a new coronavirus mutation in South Africa: does it threaten vaccines?
• In the genes of the British saw signs of social inequality
• Moderna claims 100% effectiveness of its Covid-19 vaccine for severe cases
• California reverses reopening due to spike in infections

“According to one of the government’s scientific advisers, the reason Matt Hancock is ‘incredibly concerned’ about the South African variant of Covid-19 is that they are not so sure that the vaccines will be as effective as they are for the variant that appeared in the United Kingdom,” Peston said.