World health organization Urges Measures to Stop Spread of COVID-19

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The World Health Organization expressed concern Monday over new reports that vaccines against the coronavirus may not sufficiently protect against new variants.

On Sunday, South Africa suspended its vaccination campaign against COVID-19 after a new study revealed that the AstraZeneca vaccine is less effective against a variant of the virus found in the country.

Speaking at a media briefing a day later, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a media briefing that the decision is "a reminder that we need to do everything we can to reduce circulation of the virus with proven public health measures."

The study, conducted by the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and not yet peer reviewed, concluded that the British vaccine offered only "limited protection against moderate forms of the disease caused by the South African variant, in young adults."

The news was a blow to South Africa, which has seen more than 46,000 people die from the virus. It had planned to begin inoculating its population with a million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the coming days. But the study found that the vaccine was only 22% effective in moderate cases of the South African variant of the disease.

The study did not explore the vaccine's effect against severe cases. The variant has been found in at least 32 other countries, including the United States. 

AstraZeneca said Sunday it was developing another vaccine that would be more effective against the South African variant, which could be expected by this autumn.