Pfizer claims its vaccine works against UK and South African variants

The vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech against the coronavirus appears to be effective against a SARS-CoV-2 mutation shared by new variants of the virus which have appeared in UK and South Africa, according to a study by the pharmacist and the University of Texas.

The study has been published in the biorXiv repository, where the texts have yet to be reviewed by other experts, although you can leave your comments.

The rapidly spreading variants from the UK and South Africa share the N501Y mutation, which is “of particular concern” because increases the affinity of viral protein S for the human cell receptor, through which it enters.

In the UK, where it was first identified, the new variant has become the predominant form of the coronavirus in just three months, accelerating the increase in the number of cases in the country and filling its hospitals.

Serum samples were used for the study from the blood of 20 participants in a previous trial who had received both doses of the vaccine and were drawn between two or four weeks after immunization.

One limitation of the study, the authors note, is that does not include the full set of mutations they “are found in strains which spread rapidly in the UK or South Africa”.

The authors note that “the continuing evolution of SARS-CoV-2 requires continuous vigilance the importance of changes in immunization coverage “.

This surveillance “is accompanied by preparations for the possibility that a future mutation of SARS-CoV-2 necessitates a change of the vaccine strain”.

An update of the vaccine, according to the study, “would be facilitated by the flexibility of vaccine technology which is based on messenger RNA technology. “

The appearance of the new strains has raised serious concerns around the world. They even led to action faster than at the start of the pandemic. So, for example, most countries in Europe cut their connections with the UK at the end of December.

Against this background, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock was very concerned about the new strain detected in southern Africa.

“We have taken very strong action to stop the flights from South Africa,” he said, noting that this seems to be easier to convey than the tension seen in his country.

For the scientific community, the South African strain has multiple mutations in the protein called spicule, which the virus uses to infect human cells, the report disseminates.

On the other hand, they reveal that has a higher viral load, which implies a higher concentration of particles of the virus in the body of infected people and, therefore, higher levels of transmission.

Beyond the unknown extent of immunity that drugs can offer, the UK government will allow its citizens to receive a mixture of two different vaccines on rare occasions.

The UK, where Covid has already caused some 74,000 deaths, has become the first country in the world to approve the use of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.

With information from EFE.

JPE