In a laboratory study, the vaccine Pfizer and BioNTech demonstrated its effectiveness against the Brazilian variant of the coronavirus

Pfizer and BioNTech’s covid-19 vaccine has shown great ability to neutralize the rapidly spreading strain of coronavirus in Brazil, according to a new study.

In laboratory experiments, the vaccine demonstrated “roughly equivalent” levels of neutralizing activity against Brazilian and British strains compared to a version of the virus early last year. It also showed “robust but less” activity compared to the South African variant, according to a letter to New England Journal of Medicine.

While research needs to be validated with real world data, offers another reason for optimism that covid vaccines generally work well against variants of the virus.

The research was supported by Pfizer and BioNTech and conducted by scientists in the medical branch of the University of Texas in Galveston, Texas.

The study showed that blood taken from people who received the vaccine neutralized a designed version of the virus that contained the same mutations found in the peak part of the highly contagious P.1 variant, first identified in Brazil.

Scientists have said that the neutralization capacity was roughly equivalent to the effect of the vaccine in an older, less contagious version of last year’s virus.

The spike, used by the virus to enter human cells, is the primary target of many covid-19 vaccines.

In previously published studies, Pfizer had found that its vaccine neutralized other more contagious variants first identified in the UK and South Africa.Although the South African variant can reduce the protective antibodies caused by the vaccine.

While developers, including BioNTech, are already working on new versions of their vaccines to combat mutated strains, the current generation of covid vaccines is already showing encouraging results against the variants.

Pfizer said he believes his current vaccine is very likely to still protect against the South African variant. However, the manufacturer plans to test a third booster dose of its vaccine, as well as a version specifically redesigned to fight the variant to better understand the immune response.

The vaccine AstraZeneca Plc also offers protection against the Brazilian variant, reported Reuters, citing the Fiocruz del País biomedical institute.

However, the strain first found in South Africa has at times been more difficult to target. The country started using the Johnson & Johnson vaccines last month for its initial inoculations after a small study showed that AstraZeneca’s vaccine had little impact on mild infections caused by the variant.

(With information from Reuters Yes Bloomberg)

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