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(CNN) -
Scientists are studying whether a new strain of the novel coronavirus found in South Africa will pose a threat to the vaccine, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen on Friday.
"The point is that to know we have to test it, and that is what is happening now, testing the strain found in South Africa against the antibodies produced by vaccines.
We don't have that answer, but I'm sure the answer will come soon, ”Fauci said.
LOOK: The South African variant of the coronavirus could potentially affect the efficacy of the vaccine, says the virologist who discovered the variation
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said South African scientists are now testing to see if vaccines are effective against the strain, and that testing is also being conducted now, or will happen soon, in the US. ..
"I don't know if it will be Monday or Tuesday, and there are many groups that are doing it," he said.
Fauci said on Wednesday that covid-19 vaccines should be effective against a new strain of the virus found in the UK.
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The South African strain dates back to around November 20, according to Tulio de Oliveira, the virologist who first identified it.
It has 22 significant changes from previous strains of the coronavirus, and the UK strain has 17 mutations.
Both are an unusually high number of mutations, and some of them are related to the spike proteins found on top of the virus, which is the target of antibodies generated by vaccines.
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