Covid-19 vaccines like the Pfizer-BioNTech are likely to remain effective against new variants of the coronavirus, including recent strains detected in Britain and South Africa.
Infectious diseases expert Ooi Eng Eong of the Duke-NUS Medical School said this is because the vaccines enable the body to produce antibodies against the whole of the spike protein that the virus uses to infect human cells, while the mutations are mostly occurring only on the tip of the protein.
"Over time, more of the virus will evolve, but there are some parts that have to be conserved. Not everything can change," he told The Straits Times.
"The reason is that they are in contact with many other parts. If it mutates, the entire structure will collapse," he noted.
"The vaccine can generate antibodies against those parts of the virus that are really critical for the infection process, making it very hard for the virus to escape from the immunity developed."
Dr Michel Nussenzweig, an immunologist at Rockefeller University in New York, said existing vaccines will still prevent serious illness and people should continue to be vaccinated, the New York Times reported last Wednesday.
Infectious diseases expert Ooi Eng Eong of the Duke-NUS Medical School said this is because the vaccines enable the body to produce antibodies against the whole of the spike protein that the virus uses to infect human cells, while the mutations are mostly occurring only on the tip of the protein.
"Over time, more of the virus will evolve, but there are some parts that have to be conserved. Not everything can change," he told The Straits Times.
"The reason is that they are in contact with many other parts. If it mutates, the entire structure will collapse," he noted.
"The vaccine can generate antibodies against those parts of the virus that are really critical for the infection process, making it very hard for the virus to escape from the immunity developed."
Dr Michel Nussenzweig, an immunologist at Rockefeller University in New York, said existing vaccines will still prevent serious illness and people should continue to be vaccinated, the New York Times reported last Wednesday.
