More preliminary results in the laboratory suggest that the Pfizer / BioNTech coronavirus vaccine will be effective against new, more contagious coronavirus strains first identified in South Africa and the United Kingdom.
As in previous studies, antibodies were slightly less effective against the virus with three key mutations in the variant identified in South Africa. However, Pfizer and BioNTech said: “the small differences in viral neutralization observed in these studies are unlikely to result in a significant reduction in vaccine efficacy.”
The researchers designed versions of the virus in the laboratory that contained some of the mutations found in the variants. They tested them against blood taken from 20 people who received two doses of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine as part of a clinical trial.
The laboratory study – conducted by researchers from Pfizer and the medical branch of the University of Texas – did not test all the mutations found in the variants, and researchers note that ‘clinical data are needed for firm conclusions about the vaccine efficacy against various viruses. ‘
The results were posted on the preprint server bioRxiv on Wednesday and have not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal.
Pfizer and BioNTech said on Wednesday that a new vaccine against the variant does not appear to be necessary. In a news release, they said they will continue to monitor strains and conduct studies to monitor how effective the vaccine is in the real world. Pfizer said earlier this week that it was “laying the groundwork” to create a vaccine enhancer that could respond to coronavirus variants if necessary.
Moderna, the maker of the other coronavirus vaccine approved in the United States, said this week that its Covid-19 vaccine creates antibodies that neutralize the coronavirus variants first found in the United Kingdom and South Africa. , and he plans to test a stimulant against the variants. “Out of abundance of caution.”
## Vaccines