Amid fear over the new COVID-19 strain, a new research suggests Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine can protect against the mutation. The new variants, which have raised alarms across the globe, were found in Britain and South Africa. According to a report by Reuters, the laboratory study was conducted by Pfizer and scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch. The study, which is yet to be peer-reviewed, suggests the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech seems effective in neutralising mutation in UK variant coronavirus with the so-called N501Y mutation of the spike protein.
All of the vaccines already approved or in development use this outer portion of the virus, known as the spike protein, to train the body to recognize the virus and make virus-neutralizing antibodies. The N501Y mutation is linked to greater transmissibility, and scientists have expressed concerns it could also allow the virus to escape the neutralizing antibodies produced in response to the vaccine, said Phil Dormitzer, one of Pfizer’s top viral vaccine scientists. The first results of tests on some of the key variants of concern offer some hope as Britain and other countries try to tame the more infectious variants, which authorities believe are driving a surge in infections that could overwhelm healthcare systems.
The study was conducted on blood taken from people who had been given the vaccine. Its findings are limited because it does not look at the full set of mutations found in either of the new variants of the rapidly spreading virus. Dormitzer said it was encouraging that the vaccine appears effective against the mutation, as well as 15 other mutations the company has previously tested against.
Dormitzer said another mutation found in the South African variant, called the E484K mutation, was also concerning. The researchers plan to run similar tests to establish whether the vaccine is effective against other mutations found in the British and South African variants and hope to have more data within weeks. The variants are said by scientists to be more transmissible than previously dominant ones, but they are not thought to cause more serious illness.
Scientists said the results of the study would help calm concerns that people will not be protected by vaccines being given to millions of people around the world in the fight against the pandemic, which has killed more than 1.8 million people and roiled economies. But they cautioned that more clinical tests and data are still needed to come to a definitive conclusion.
