Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Shows Good Response Against New COVID Strain

The coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech is likely to be just as effective against a highly transmissible mutant strain of the virus that was discovered in the U.K., according to a study by the two companies.

The variant, known as B.1.1.7., was estimated to have first emerged in the U.K. in September. It has an unusually high number of mutations and is associated with more efficient and rapid transmission.

The New COVID Variant

The characteristics of the variant had led to concerns about the effectiveness of Covid vaccines against it. However, research published on preprint server bioRxiv showed “no biologically significant difference in neutralization activity” between the laboratory tests on B.1.1.7 and the original strain of the coronavirus.

The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, found that all of the mutations associated with the newly discovered variant were neutralized by antibodies in the blood of 16 participants who had previously been given the vaccine.

Vaccine Trials

Half of the participants were ages 18 to 55 and the other half were 56 to 85.

Authors of the study warned that the rapid spread of Covid variants worldwide required “continuous monitoring of the significance of changes for maintained protection by currently authorized vaccines.”

It is the first paper of its kind to be completed by a major Covid vaccine maker. Other drug companies are scrambling to conduct tests on the effectiveness of their own respective inoculations.

Moderna and AstraZeneca, which has developed a Covid vaccine in partnership with the University of Oxford, have said they expect their vaccines to be effective against B.1.1.7.

Quicker Transimission

Earlier this month, Dr. Ugur Sahin, co-founder and CEO of BioNTech, told CNBC that the German pharmaceutical company was confident its vaccine would develop an immune response against B.1.1.7.

Sahin said the vaccine also should prove to be effective against a variant discovered in South Africa — another highly transmissible mutation that has raised concerns.

His comments came shortly after initial tests had shown Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine appeared to be effective against a key mutation in the more infectious variants of the virus discovered in the U.K. and South Africa. Now, scientists from the two companies have published research indicating the vaccine is likely to be effective against all mutations associated with B.1.1.7.

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