A rare COVID-19 variant that has been detected in Angola and Sweden during Spring 2021 may compromise vaccine efficacy, a study published this week in Nature Molecular and Cellular Immunology suggests.
Researchers say that the A.30 variant, which likely originated in the African country, has developed several mutations to its spike protein that may allow it to evade antibodies elicited by vaccines and infections and avoid getting neutralized by them.
Many countries the globe over, Israel included, have largely based their pandemic response policies on their respective vaccine rollouts. However, A.30 increased adeptness in penetrating cellular membranes compared to other virus variants may force the world to rethink its coronavirus strategy.