A study by South African scientists into the new coronavirus variant driving a resurgence of cases in the country raises concern about the efficacy of vaccines and a new class of therapies.
Half the blood samples taken from a small group of people to have recovered from Covid-19 didn’t have the antibodies needed to protect against the 501Y.V2 strain identified last month, according to the paper by South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases. In the other half, antibody levels were reduced and the risk of re-infection couldn’t be determined, according to the institute.
