“This is of particular concern … is the emergence of the E484K mutation (found in the South African variant), which has so far only been seen in a relatively small number of individuals,” said Ravi Gupta, a professor at the Cambridge University’s Institute for Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Diseases, which co-led the study.
“Our work suggests that the vaccine is likely to be less effective if you handle this mutation.”
Britain and many other countries have begun rolling out the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine to try to stem the spread of the pandemic.
Although the highly effective vaccine should be designed in two doses with about three weeks between them, the British government has chosen to extend the time gap to 12 weeks to try to reach as many people as possible with a first dose.
The study, released on Tuesday, used blood samples from 26 people who had received their first dose of Pfizer vaccine three weeks earlier to test whether the shot would protect against two variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus – the British variant, known as B1. .1.7., And the South African variant, which has the E484K mutation.
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In testing the blood serum samples, all but one of the participants had levels of antibodies that were sufficient to neutralize the virus – that is, to protect against infection, the researchers said.
When the scientists added all the major mutations found in the B1.1.7 variant, they found that the efficacy of the vaccine was affected, with on average two times higher concentrations of antibodies needed to neutralize the virus.
When the E484K mutation was added, even higher levels of antibodies were needed to neutralize the virus – with an average of ten times more increase, the researchers said.
Dami Collier, who led the work, said the findings suggest that a significant proportion of people over the age of 80 three weeks after their first vaccine may not have developed protective neutralizing antibodies against infection.
Data on clinical trials released last week on two other COVID-19 vaccines – from Novavax and Johnson & Johnson – also found that the South African coronavirus reduced their ability to protect against the disease.