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The findings by the team of South African scientists raise hopes that vaccines modelled on the strain could protect against future mutations.
- AFP Johannesburg
- Last Updated:March 03, 2021, 20:07 IST
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A new study has shown that people previously infected by the Covid-19 variant identified in South Africa have better immunity against other coronavirus mutations, experts said Wednesday.
The findings, from preliminary research by the team of South African scientists who identified the variant dubbed 501Y.V2, raise hopes that vaccines modelled on the strain could protect against future mutations.
Identified late last year, the variant fuelled South Africa’s second wave of infection and delayed the start of vaccinations in February.
Scientists said Wednesday that plasma collected from people infected with the variant had “good neutralising activity”, including against “first wave” viruses and potentially other variants of…