WHO chief says world must adapt to the mutating coronavirus with boosted vaccines and continued health measures

World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says new variants of the coronavirus can be tackled by relying on proven preventive actions such as mask wearing and adjusting new vaccines. A recent study indicates that the AstraZeneca vaccine is only minimally effective in stopping mild versions of COVID-19 caused by the South African variant of the virus. Other new vaccines have also been shown to be less effective against this variant, though they appear to prevent the severe form of COVID-19. Tedros said it was likely that modified vaccines would have to be manufactured annually, similar to influenza vaccines. Seth Berkley, chief executive of GAVI, said the new findings about the variants make it more pressing to vaccinate everyone to slow the transmission of the virus. He said, “The more the virus is allowed to spread, the more it is allowed to be transmitted, the more opportunity it has to adapt and mutate.” In South Africa, plans to vaccinate millions with the AstraZeneca vaccine have been suspended. Salim Abdool Karim, a leading health official in South Africa, said at a briefing the plan now is to immunize roughly 100,000 people to gauge the vaccine’s effectiveness prior to resuming its general rollout.