Beta variant can evade Covid vaccines, UK scientist claims

While the world is fighting with the widespread of the new Delta variant of coronavirus, an expert has sounded alarm bells that the Beta variant may also prove out to be equally dangerous.

A scientist has warned the government around the world that the Beta variant, which is quickly spreading through France, may be able to evade Covid vaccines.

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"The Beta variant has remained a threat throughout. It is probably less infectious than the Delta variant that is spreading here in the UK at the moment. Where it has an advantage is that it is able to escape the immune response to a better extent," Professor John Edmunds, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a member of Sage claimed on a local radio programme.

His warning has come after the UK government said all travellers returning from France will have to self-isolate themselves even if they have been fully vaccinated.

Justifying the government’s decision, he added, "as the population here becomes more and more immune, the conditions are right then for the Beta variant to get an advantage, so I can understand the concern."

Edmunds' warning has clashed with the public’s anger towards the government’s decision. Locals and travellers of France have been unhappy with the self-isolation decision as the same has not been imposed on any of the other countries on the amber list.

"Of the variants that are out there and are known about, that one has always been a threat to us. There is some good evidence from South Africa that it can evade the immune response generated by the AstraZeneca vaccine more efficiently,"Edmunds said.