Experts have raised concern over a new variant of COVID-19 believed to be more resistant to mRNA vaccines such as Moderna and Pfizer.
The B.1.427 / B.1.429 variant of COVId-19 also known as the Epsilon variant was first detected in California in USA last March 2021.
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The variant has spread to 44 countries already particularly in European countries.
According to a study published in Science, the Epsilon variant has three mutations of the spike protein through which the virus enters cells, which make it resistant to antibodies generated by mRna vaccines and also previous infections.
The research was conducted by Matthew McCallum, a biochemist at the University of Washington in Seattle, which analyzed the plasma taken from 15 people vaccinated with two doses of Moderna jab, from 33 vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer-BioNtech jab and from 9 individuals who had contracted COVID-19.
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The Epsilon variant was initially classified as a “Variant of Concern” by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) before it was downgraded to a Variant of Interest.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) does not classify the variant among those of greatest concern. The UN health body classified the Epsilon variant as Variant of Interest.
At least seven cases of contamination with the Epsilon variant have been recorded in France, data from the GISAID (Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data) showed. (RA)
