Lucio Miele, M.D., Ph.D.
As two new mutations of the coronavirus have been reported, questions arise if the current vaccines being rolled out in the US will provide adequate protection. Assistant Dean for Translational Science at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, Doctor Lucio Miele said they will.
“There is no need for panic at this time. The mutants that have been described up to now would still be covered by the available vaccine,” said Miele.
Miele said we take the flu vaccine annually because it mutates, so a mutation in a virus is nothing new, however, the RNA science that has developed the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines can be easily adapted when needed.
“If this virus does something similar, we’re going to be ready with a new vaccine, whenever that becomes necessary, and the technology that we have now allows us to change the vaccine much faster than we could do in the past,” said Miele.
While some question the safety and speed at which the vaccines were approved, Miele said the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are the safest vaccines he has ever studied, and 70-thousand participants were involved in the clinical trials.
“Most actual medications are approved by the FDA based on fewer patients than the ones that were all together involved in the clinical trials of Pfizer and Moderna,” said Miele.
He says while the mutated strains in Britain and South Africa are much more contagious, they do not necessarily affect the body as severely as COVID-19. While the mutations need to be observed, currently Miele says vaccine-wise the mutations do not pose a threat.
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