Clinical trials for vaccines for the new mutant strains of COVID-19 are scheduled to begin soon. Several different versions of the new vaccines are in the works, including one that would address a multitude of virus variants and another one that will study a way to block transmission of the disease.
Figuring out how to stop disease transmission is an important goal because, “At present, Covid vaccines are designed to stop infected people becoming seriously ill, to prevent hospitalizations and deaths. It is not known yet how effective they are at blocking viruses passing from person to another,” The Guardian reports.
While the new variants seem better at infecting people, one high note is that they don’t seem to be causing more severe disease.
SOURCE: The Guardian February 21, 2021