South Africa halted use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford coronavirus vaccine on Sunday after evidence emerged that the vaccine did not protect clinical-trial participants from mild or moderate illness caused by the more contagious virus variant that was first seen there.

The findings were a devastating blow to the country’s efforts to combat the pandemic.

Scientists in South Africa said on Sunday that a similar problem held among people who had been infected by earlier versions of the coronavirus: the immunity they acquired naturally did not appear to protect them from mild or moderate cases when reinfected by the variant, known as B.1.351.

The developments, coming nearly a week after a million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine arrived in South Africa, were an enormous setback for the country, where more than 46,000 people are known to have died from the virus. And they were another sign of the dangers posed by new mutations in the coronavirus. The B.1.351 variant has already spread to at least 32 countries, including the United States.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/02/07/world/covid-19-coronavirus?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20210207&instance_id=0&nl=breaking-news&ref=cta®i_id=60933127&segment_id=51190&user_id=0b264a08a69b00d6bff0553eed719953#south-africa-says-astrazenecas-vaccine-is-not-very-effective-at-stopping-a-variant-from-causing-illness - https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/02/07/world/covid-19-coronavirus?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20210207&instance_id=0&nl=breaking-news&ref=cta&regi_id=60933127&segment_id=51190&user_id=0b264a08a69b00d6bff0553eed719953#south-africa-says-astrazenecas-vaccine-is-not-very-effective-at-stopping-a-variant-from-causing-illness

Thanks!

Bad news indeed.

Better news here. AZ is reportedly tweaking their shot for the SA variant. Maybe those waiting for their 2nd shot in the UK will get the updated version.

A group of our scientists have started a trial to see if mixing and matching vaccines will produce a greater response.  The theory is it will, but it is to early to confirm yet.

I'm waiting for that one with bated breath.