A mutation of the novel coronavirus found in South Africa is spreading quickly, and researchers don’t know if it poses a challenge to the vaccine, according to the scientist who discovered the variation. “At the moment our assumption is that the vaccine will be effective,” said Tulio de Oliveira, a professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. De Oliveira said the South African mutation does not appear to cause more severe disease, but it is spreading fast. Some context: The South African variant has been found in seven other countries: the UK, Switzerland, Finland, Japan, Australia, Zambia and France. The variant has 22 significant changes from previous strains of the coronavirus, an unusually high number of mutations.

Source: CNN December 31, 2020 21:22 UTC