London, November 27 (BNA): The German News Agency (dpa) said that work is underway to consider amending vaccines against the new strain of coronavirus that led to the travel ban.
The variant, called Omicron and identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a “variant of concern”, arrived in Belgium after it was discovered in South Africa.
The World Health Organization has warned that preliminary evidence indicates that the variant has an increased risk of reinfection and may spread more quickly than other strains.
A number of drug companies said they are working on adapting their vaccines in light of the advent of Omicron.
British Health Minister Sajid Javid said there were “significant international concerns” surrounding the strain after flights were banned from South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia to limit its spread.
Javid told MPs there were concerns the alternative could be more transmissible, making existing vaccines less effective and potentially hampering one of the UK’s Covid treatments, Ronapreve.
Ministers have been facing calls to go further to prevent a wave of the new alternative reaching Britain while the delta wave continues, with Belgium becoming the first EU country to announce a case.
Professor John Edmonds, who advises the government as part of the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage), warned that this could lead to a “very, very difficult situation”.
The European Union, the United States and Canada have followed Britain’s move to impose travel restrictions
On visitors from South Africa before the WHO added pressure, also known as
as B.1.1.529, to its highest class with respect to variables.
Experts at the World Health Organization said there was early evidence that Omicron had an “increased risk of reinfection” and its rapid spread in South Africa suggested it had a “growth advantage”.
Novavax said it has “already begun developing a new recombinant spike protein based on the known genetic sequence of B.1.1.529 and will have it ready to begin testing and manufacturing within the next few weeks.”
Moderna said: “Since early 2021, Moderna has developed a comprehensive strategy to anticipate new variables of concern.
“This strategy includes three levels of response if the currently authorized 50 (microgram) booster dose of mRNA-1273 proves insufficient to enhance diminished immunity against the Omicron variant.”
Pfizer and BioNTech said that if a variant exists that could escape the effects of vaccines, the company expects “to be able to develop and produce a customized vaccine against this variant in about 100 days, subject to regulatory approval.”
No cases of the new strain have been detected in the UK, but its arrival in Belgium – after it was detected in Botswana, Hong Kong and Israel – has raised concerns.
Marc van Ranst, a virologist at the Riga Institute in Belgium, said the sample was confirmed as a variant in a traveler who returned from Egypt on November 11 before symptoms first appeared 11 days later.
The six African countries were added to the UK’s travel red list on Thursday night, and passengers arriving in the UK from these countries from 4am on Sunday will be required to book and pay a 10-day government-approved hotel reservation fee.
Downing Street has urged anyone who has arrived from those countries recently to get tested.
Javid said discussions were underway about the possibility of adding more countries to the red list, and told the Commons that the government “would not hesitate to act if we needed to do so”.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson phoned South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday afternoon after Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said the flight ban “appears to have been expedited”.
Downing Street said Johnson “praised South Africa’s rapid genetic sequencing” and its “leadership in transparently sharing scientific data”.
“They discussed the challenges posed by the new Covid-19 virus globally, and ways to work together to deal with it and reopen international travel,” a statement said.
Edmunds said the new strain was “a major concern” and that “all data indicate” that it would be able to evade existing immunity.
“Our fears are that she will very much do so,” he told BBC Radio 4’s programme.
Edmunds urged ministers to consider expanding travel restrictions and prepare a plan to deal with Omicron because “at some point we will have that alternative here in the UK.”
AOQ