An Oxford study confirmed that the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines are effective against the Delta and Kappa variants of the coronavirus

COVID-19 vaccines developed by AstraZeneca and the Pfizer-BioNTech alliance remain largely effective against the Delta and Kappa variants, first identified in India, according to research conducted by the University of Oxford.

The study, published in the journal Cell, examined the ability of antibodies in the blood of people vaccinated with the two-shot regimens to neutralize the highly contagious Delta and Kappa variants, according to a press release.

There is no evidence to suggest that the current generation of vaccines do not offer protection against the B.1.617 lineage, the document notes, referring to the Delta and Kappa variants by a commonly used code. Both are from India, but while Delta is considered very important, Kappa is listed as “of interest”.

However, the study showed that the concentration of neutralizing antibodies in the blood was somewhat reduced, which can lead to some rash infections, according to the text.

Last week, an analysis by the British Health Service (Public Health England, PHE) showed that Vaccines manufactured by Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca offer high protection, greater than 90%, against hospitalization for the Delta variant.

“We are encouraged to see the non-clinical results published from Oxford and this data, along with the recent real-world analysis from Public Health England, gives us a positive indication that our vaccine may have a significant impact against the Delta variant. , “, said Mene Pangalos, AstraZeneca executive.

Delta variant becomes dominant version of the disease worldwidethe chief scientist of the World Health Organization said on Friday.

Oxford researchers also looked at reinfection patterns in people who had previously had COVID-19. The risk of reinfection with the Delta variant appeared to be particularly high in individuals previously infected with the Beta and Gamma lineages that emerged in South Africa and Brazil, respectively.

In contrast, a previous infection with Alpha, or B117, a variant first detected in Britain, conferred “reasonable” cross-protection against all of the variants of concern, thus lending itself to a model upon which next-generation vaccines could be molded.

“B117 could be a candidate for new vaccine variants to provide the broadest protection,” the researchers said.

(with information from Reuters)

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