Scientists made an alarming COVID-19 discovery. They claimed that they found an "escape mutant" in a new variant of the novel coronavirus first identified in South Africa.

Experts Warn South Africa COVID-19 'Escape Mutant' E484K Reduces Vaccines' Efficacy
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Doctors treat COVID-19 patients in an intensive care unit at the third Covid 3 Hospital (Istituto clinico CasalPalocco) during the Coronavirus emergency on March 26, 2020, in Rome, Italy. Hospitals in Italy are under increased pressure as they battle to treat those who have contracted COVID-19. The Italian government continues to enforce the nationwide lockdown measures to control the spread of COVID-19.

The new South African coronavirus variant has no spread to 12 countries. According to CNN's latest report, the researchers said that the new mutation E484K can reduce the current COVID-19 vaccines' efficacy.

Penny Moore, South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases' associate professor, said that the newly found mutation is very alarming.

"We fear this mutation might have an impact, and what we don't know is the extent of the impact," she added via CNN World.

What is COVID-19 escape mutant E484K?

Moore explained that the new mutation is called escape mutant because it has the ability to dodge or escape the vaccine's antibodies.

On the other hand, Alex Signal, a virologist at the Africa Health Research Institute said that she is currently worried about the new mutation.

Experts Warn South Africa COVID-19 'Escape Mutant' E484K Reduces Vaccines' Efficacy
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Jess Baddams, paramedic, holds a blood sample as she poses for a photograph during an antibody testing program at the Hollymore Ambulance Hub of the West Midlands Ambulance Service, operated by the West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, on June 5, 2020 in Birmingham, England. The British government is providing antibody testing to NHS and care home staff as part of the first phase of its antibody testing programme.

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Although this is the case, Moore, Signal, and other researchers involved in the new study explained that they still need to complete their laboratory work to confirm that vaccines are really less effective against the new COVID-19 variant.

However, the scientists said that the vaccines will not be useless against the new mutation. What they are trying to reiterate is the new variant's ability to decrease the vaccine's efficacy.

They said that the escape mutant E484K could indicate that COVID-19 is showing its ability to change its structure. The researchers also warned that there could be more problematic mutations in the following months or years.

"This virus may be taking the first steps down a fairly lengthy road towards vaccine resistance," said Andrew Ward, a Scripps Research's structural virologist in La Jolla, California.

A vaccine that works against the new variants?

According to Healthline's latest report, researchers released new evidence that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine could be effective against the new variants found in the United Kingdom and South Africa. They explained that the new COVID-19 variants contain the N501Y mutation, which is within the medicine's spike protein.

The vaccine's developers added that their product was found effective against the new mutation. The results were shown by scientists from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and Pfizer.

For more news updates about COVID-19's new variants and coronavirus vaccines, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

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Written by: Giuliano de Leon.

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