By Michael Erman
NEW YORK, January 7 (Reuters) – Pfizer Inc and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine appear to be working against a major mutation in the highly transmissible new variant of the coronavirus discovered in the UK and South Africa, according to a laboratory study done by the US. drug manufacturer.
The not-yet-peer-reviewed study by Pfizer and scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch indicated that the vaccine is effective in neutralizing virus with the so-called N501Y mutation of the vein protein.
The mutation could be responsible for greater transmissibility, and there were concerns that it would also allow the antibody neutralization by the vaccine to escape, said Phil Dormitzer, one of Pfizer’s top virus vaccine scientists.
The study was done on blood taken from people who received the vaccine. Its findings are limited because it does not look at the complete set of mutations that occur in one of the new variants of the rapidly spreading virus.
Dormitzer said it is encouraging that the vaccine looks effective against the mutation, as well as 15 other mutations the company has previously tested against.
“We’ve now tested 16 different mutations, and none of them have really had a significant impact. That’s the good news,” he said. “That doesn’t mean the 17th.”
Dormitzer noted that another mutation in the South African variant, called the E484K mutation, is also of concern.
The researchers plan to perform similar tests to see if the vaccine is effective against other mutations found in the UK and South African variants, and they hope to get more information within a few weeks.
Scientists have expressed concern that the vaccination of vaccines may not be able to protect against the new variants, especially those that originated in South Africa.
Simon Clarke, an associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said this week that although both variants have some new features in common, the one found in South Africa has ‘a number of additional mutations’ that are more include extensive changes to the peak. protein.
The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine and that of Moderna Inc, which uses synthetic messenger RNA technology, can be quickly adapted to address new mutations of a virus if necessary. Scientists have suggested that the changes could be made within six weeks. (Reported by Michael Erman; edited by Bill Berkrot and Edwina Gibbs)
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