New strains of COVID-19 seem to be identified every week. And with each new strain, the question of: will the current vaccines protect becomes more urgent.
“I think we need to be very concerned, but we also shouldn't freak out,” Angela Rasmussen, PhD, a Virologist with Georgetown University's Center for Global Health Science and Security explains on this week’s episode.
“I think that these variants, what they've done in other countries, where they've rapidly become dominant. And in some cases, such as the B-1-351 variant from South Africa, may not be as neutralized as well by antibodies elicited by the vaccines. We need to make sure that these variants are not able to spread further within our population.”
This week we explore:
- how the new variants will impact the current vaccine supply,
- how the strains are developing
- And if we will see heterologous boosting-- mixing vaccine types to improve immunity.
Listen along with us on: Apple Podcasts , Spotify, or wherever you listen
