Pfizer’s vaccine loses effectiveness at 8 months

The co-founder of the German pharmaceutical company BioNTech, Ugur Sahin, assured that the vaccine against COVID-19 developed in collaboration with the American Pfizer loses its effectiveness eight months after the application of the second dose. Therefore, he announced that it is very likely that a third injection will be needed to maintain immunity.

“The protection slowly declines over time. We have data which indicates that at six months the protection is no longer 95% but 91%; and at eight months we see that the antibodies that produce the protection decrease. clearly “, revealed the doctor, during a virtual meeting with journalists. For this reason, a “third dose should be given to bring the protection back to almost 100%” and it will be given “at nine months or no later than one year.” It can help protection like a booster shot, “Sahin insisted, adding that” probably “this vaccine will become an annual inoculation, like that of seasonal flu.

Meanwhile, the expert said he “was confident” that the drug “was effective” against the strain India coronavirus, a more aggressive mutation than previously detected. “The Indian variant has mutations that we have already studied and against which our vaccine works,” he said, while specifying that the “tests” are still continuing. In addition, he explained that his remedy “is based on the experiences gained with cancer, in which we are experimenting with many variations and, so far, we have achieved good results in all of them.”

Pfizer vaccine.

Meanwhile, Sahin said that in the coming weeks, the vaccine could be given to minors from the age of 12, while in September 2021 it will reach children over six months old. “The evidence to date on tolerability and efficacy is encouraging,” he noted.

Researchers have revealed that the SARS-CoV-2 variant found in India, called B.1.617, has three threatening mutations in the 30,000 letter RNA sequence that makes up its genome.

One of the evolutions of the virus made it 20% more infectious, increased its replication capacity and allowed it to escape patients’ antibodies. While the second modification is unknown to its potential, the third increases its ability to invade tissue.