<Anchor>



AstraZeneca product is the largest number of vaccines expected to enter Korea in the first half of this year.

However, following the controversy that the vaccine is less effective for people over 65 years old, there has also been a talk that the AstraZeneca vaccine does not work well for the South African mutant virus.



Still, the government is in a position that it should be met quickly, and this is explained in detail by medical reporter Cho Dong-chan.



<Reporter> The



South African government has put AstraZeneca vaccination on hold.



The reason is that it is 75% preventable against other mutant viruses, but only 22% against South African mutant viruses.



Although it is difficult to directly compare due to different research methods, there are studies showing that Pfizer and NovaVax also have some inferiority in blocking mutation in South Africa.



The problem is that the British variant, where the existing vaccine works, is also resembling the South African variant.



It is called Kent's mutation. According to a study at the University of Cambridge, England, 51 cases have been confirmed in the UK alone that have the characteristics of South African mutations in the UK mutations, which have high transmission power and can reduce vaccine effectiveness.



The British Medical Association was concerned that this variation would continue.



Even if we develop a new vaccine that is tailored to the South African mutation, new mutations may appear again at that time.



Still, it is important to get the current vaccines quickly.



This is because even if the vaccine does not completely block the mutant virus, it can lower the fatality rate.



[Jae-Hwan Nam/Professor of the Department of Medical Life Science, Catholic University of Korea: One of the functions of the vaccine is to prevent the virus from going to severity, that is, to prevent getting sick.] When



symptoms such as coughing become mild, the spreading power decreases that much. .



Therefore, population immunity can be accelerated only when vaccines introduced in Korea, including the AstraZeneca vaccine, are given as planned.



(Video editing: Jung Yonghwa)