London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Sep 12, 2025

Matt Hancock warns vaccine may be 50% less effective against South Africa strain

Matt Hancock warns vaccine may be 50% less effective against South Africa strain

Matt Hancock has warned the South African coronavirus variant could reduce vaccine effectiveness by 50% – putting the UK ‘back to square one’ if it took hold and became the dominant strain.

The health secretary said ‘there is evidence in the public domain’ that the variant may be more resistant to current jabs in use, but cautioned that ‘we are not sure of this data’ yet.

He added that the variant is being tested at the Government’s Porton Down research facility as well as in a clinical trial in South Africa to check the efficacy of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

Mr Hancock’s comments came from a recording of an online webinar with travel agents this week, leaked to MailOnline.

He said: ‘There is evidence in the public domain, although we are not sure of this data so I wouldn’t say this in public, but that the South African variant reduces by about 50% the vaccine efficacy.’

The health secretary added: ‘We’re testing that and we’ve got some of the South African variant in Porton Down, and we’re testing it.

‘We’ve got a clinical trial in South Africa to check that the AstraZeneca vaccine works.

‘Nevertheless, if we vaccinated the population, and then you got in a new variant that evaded the vaccine, then we’d be back to square one.’


Staff prepare to give AstraZeneca vaccinations to patients at a Covid-19 vaccination centre


Healthcare workers tend to a patient at a temporary ward at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa


Asked about the clip at Friday’s Downing Street briefing, the Government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said: ‘I’m going to be a bore about this because these are difficult laboratory studies and people are trying to look at how effectively antibodies neutralise various forms of the virus or various parts of viruses.

‘They will get different results in different laboratories, and not all of the immune response is an antibody response.

‘So taking a result from a laboratory and saying ‘therefore the vaccine will be 50% less effective’ – you just can’t do it.



‘We are going to see different results coming up in all of these. Ultimately it is going to be clinical data that is going to tell us, and we are going to get clinical data because there is vaccination occurring in South Africa, there is vaccination occurring in Brazil – we will find out how effective vaccines are against this.

‘It is the case that both the South African and Brazilian identified variants have more differences in shape which might mean they are recognised differently by antibodies.

‘But I think it is too early to know the effect that will have on the vaccination in people and it is worth remembering that the response of the vaccine is very, very high antibody levels, so that may overcome some of this.

‘We don’t know the answer but there’s obviously a cause for concern.’

Professor Chris Whitty said it is possible that even if the current vaccines had reduced efficacy they could still be able to protect against severe disease.

He told the press conference: ‘It is possible, we don’t know this, that what we could end up with is that the current vaccines still protect to a large degree against severe disease and dying, even if they are less effective against infection.’

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
×