White House Operation Warp Speed chief says that coronavirus variant 'should be under control' with vaccinations
- Moncef Slaoui, head of the White House's Operation Warpspeed, said the new coronavirus variant "should be under control" with the vaccines.
- "This virus actually mutates as part of its normal behavior, and therefore it is normal to expect there will be variants," Slaoui said in an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
- Vaccine companies and health experts have said that the coronavirus vaccines, should work to protect against the new variant that is believed to be up to to 70% more transmissible.
Moncef Slaoui, head of the White House's Operation Warpspeed, said the new coronavirus variant "should be under control" with the vaccines.
"This virus actually mutates as part of its normal behavior, and therefore it is normal to expect that there will be variants," Slaoui said in an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "Based on the information shared with us by the UK scientists and early data that we have here, we think that this virus variant should be under control with this vaccine."
A new coronavirus variant that is believed to be possibly up to 70% more transmissible was reported in the UK in late December. Since then, parts of the UK entered strict restrictions, and many countries around the world have restricted incoming travel from the country.
At least 33 countries have detected cases of the new variant, and the US reported cases of the new variant in San Diego and Colorado last week.
Vaccine companies and health experts have said that the coronavirus vaccines, which started being distributed across the country last month, should work to protect against the new variant. The CEO of BioNTech said that there was a "relatively high" chance the company's vaccine with Pfizer will work, and AstraZeneca's CEO said that their vaccine "should remain effective." As Business Insider's Dr. Catherine Schuster-Bruce reported, experts have doubled down this vaccine will likely work against the new strains of the virus.
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- BioNTech's CEO said there's a 'relatively high' possibility the vaccine they made with Pfizer will protect against the UK's new coronavirus variant
- AstraZeneca's vaccine is expected to work on new COVID-19 strains, says CEO
- San Diego man tests positive for new, more contagious UK variant of COVID-19
- At least 33 countries have reported cases of the new, possibly more infectious coronavirus variant from the UK