- The Pfizer vaccine is causing a strong reaction against two prominent COVID-19 variants, according to a new study.
- The variants – first found in the UK and South Africa – feared that vaccines would not work on them.
- The study seems to refute the theory, but the results are preliminary and have not yet been peer-reviewed.
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The Pfizer vaccine could be protected against the new variant of the coronavirus, according to data from a new study quoted by the Guardian.
The vaccine has led to promising results when tested on two variants that are widely feared by health experts, one first found in the UK and another first found in South Africa.
The study involves testing the vaccine using blood samples from vaccines, rather than studying the effects on the people themselves.
Scientists at Oxford exposed the samples to each of the virus variants. They use samples from people who received one dose of vaccine, and from people who took both.
The data published here have not been judged by peers, meaning experts are likely to handle it with caution.
Nevertheless, it showed that the immune response after two doses of the vaccine was significant.
William James, a professor at Oxford who worked on the data, told the Guardian that the response was “at the kind of level that neutralises the virus”.
James said his team was “fairly confident” that those who received two doses of Pfizer vaccine would be protected from infection by the variants, the Guardian said.
James continues: ‘This virus has not yet developed, but I think that as long as the vaccines are rolled out and people get the second doses, we will be in a much better position by summer than we are now. “
One dose of the vaccine did increase the response to the virus, but not very strongly.
This indicates that it is ‘very important’ that people get their second dose of vaccine, Deborah Dunn-Walters, a professor of immunology at the University of Surrey, told The Guardian.
This is encouraging, but more data will probably be needed to determine if the Pfizer vaccine will work against these new viruses.
A question that could change the course of the pandemic
The question of whether the vaccines will work against the new variants is a big problem around the world.
The vaccines were developed and tested when the new variants had not yet appeared. Since then, the virus has evolved.
New variants often involve changes in the vein protein region of the virus, which is the most important segment against which vaccines work.
The fear is that mutations could mean that the vaccines could no longer recognize the virus and therefore could no longer protect against COVID-19. In that case, new vaccines will have to be developed.
Read more: The latest COVID stimulus plan means big changes to Obamacare. Here’s how millions of people can save money on health insurance.
Two of these variants, the South Africa and the UK variants, are of concern to experts.
The AstraZeneca vaccine apparently works against the British variant, but data coming from South Africa indicate that the vaccine would not protect against mild to moderate diseases of the South African variant, as dr. Catherine Shuster-Bruce of Insider.
It is all the more worrying that both of these variants are spreading rapidly around the world. The variant first spotted in the UK is spreading across the US, and the variant identified in South Africa has surpassed other variants of the disease affecting four U.S. states including California, Gavin Newsom said Wednesday.
As long as the virus can spread among unvaccinated people, it will continue to mutate and evade the protection of the vaccine currently being spread, as reported by Andrew Dunn, Aria Bendix and Hilary Brueck of Insider.
Scientists are working on ways to prepare for the mutations, including the uptake of approved vaccines and the development of new generations of vaccines.