U.S. Army scientists are analyzing a new COVID-19 strain found in the United Kingdom and investigating if the current vaccines are sufficient to fight it.
Scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research last week began analyzing data to determine the extent of the new mutated variant's danger and to try and determine if the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will fight off the strain.
"It stands to reason that this mutation isn't a threat, but you never know," Nelson Michael, a doctor at the Center for Infectious Diseases Research at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, told CNN.
"We still have to be diligent and continue to look."
Scientists began their research by doing a computer analysis of the new strain. If results show a concern, studies will be conducted in laboratories and in animals to determine if the vaccine will work on this variant.
"The computer analysis will allow us to gauge how much concern we should have," Michael said. "Other teams around the world are doing this analysis, too."
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and are being distributed around the United States. They work by creating genetic blueprints for the spikes that appear on the surface of the original coronavirus. The immune system then attacks those spikes.
There have been no reports of the new strain in the United States as of yet.
Experts, citing that viruses are always mutating, say the new strain won't necessarily nullify the current vaccine.
"Even with mutations, the virus essentially stays the same," said William Schaffner, an adviser to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "It's like with a person. I can switch out my brown coat for a gray coat, but I'm still Bill Schaffner. I've changed something, but I'm still the same person."
During a press conference in England on Saturday when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new holiday lockdowns, the UK's chief scientific adviser addressed the vaccines.
"Our working assumption at the moment from all of the scientists is that the vaccine response should be adequate for this virus," Dr. Patrick Vallance said.
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