AstraZeneca jabs could be 'ineffective' if variant from South Africa not contained — OCTA researcher
MANILA, Philippines — The country's doses of AstraZeneca, which have yet to arrive, may become ineffective against the coronavirus if the spread of the variant first detected in South Africa is not controlled, an OCTA Research member warned on Wednesday.
Some 487,600 doses of the jabs are due for delivery on Thursday, March 4, as part of the Philippines' share from the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility after delays.
But its arrival comes just a few days after health officials said the COVID-19 variant known as the B.1.351 has reached the country with six confirmed cases so far.
In a briefing, Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, O.P. said studies have shown AstraZeneca's efficacy rate "dramatically decreases" from 70% to only 10% against the said variant.
Austriaco has Ph.D. degree in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"South Africa decided to abandon the Astrazeneca vaccine because it is no different than injecting water into the patients," the molecular biologist said. "[With] 10% protection, basically most people would be able to get mild to moderate COVID-19."
He was referring to the move last month by authorities in Africa's worst-hit nation to halt the rollout of the jabs after preliminary results revealed that the vaccine offered less protection against the variant there.
Despite this, the WHO insisted that the vaccines from the British-Swedish drugmaker remains a vital tool in the fight against the ongoing health crisis.
Austriaco's warning could prove to be crucial in the country's vaccination program, which only begun this March.
Latest allocation figures from the COVAX published yesterday showed that the Philippines is due to receive 4.58 million doses of AstraZeneca, from the earlier 5.5 million given by officials.
This is still on top of the 17 million in total which the country, through the national and local governments as well as the private sector, inked procurement deals with the said manufacturer for
"We have already been hit in the stomach by a variant that if not controlled, not eliminated from the islands," Austriaco said, "will severely impact and make it more difficult for us to vaccinate the 75 million in order to acquire herd immunity."
The variant has since spread to at least 48 countries since emerging in late 2020 in South Africa.
It carries a mutation called N501Y, which also appears in the B.1.1.7. variant, or the more infectious variant from the United Kingdom that reached the country in January.
Three of the country's six cases of the variant from South Africa are from Pasay, a city that has seen a significant surge in COVID-19 infections recently that led to local officials placing 55 barangays under lockdown.
Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano said on Tuesday that the lockdown, which ends on March 5, could be extended given the developments surrounding the variant.
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