Early evidence suggests Pfizer vaccine works against novel variant of coronavirus

Scientists are working hard to determine if mutations found in new variants of the coronavirus could bypass the immunity offered by vaccines currently developed. TThe first results of this work are encouraging: They suggest that the Pfizer vaccine is still effective against an important mutation found in these variants. HHowever, more research is still needed before we are completely reassured.

Preliminary results were released this week on the bioRXiv preprint website by a team of scientists from Pfizer and the University of Texas Medical Branch. They took blood samples from people who had been fully vaccinated and tested them against strains of the virus carrying the N501Y mutation, which was observed in variants first found in the UK and South Africa and is considered to be one of the main reasons why these strains are more transmissible. Sscientists have fears that the mutation alters the structure of the virus enough to allow it to “escape” detection by the immune system of survivors or those who have been vaccinated.

in the tests, the blood of these patients was still able to neutralize the N501Y strain of the virus, just as well against other variants. This indicates that this single mutation alone will not protect the virus from our weapons. The team also tested other mutations seen in the UK or South Africa and found similar results.

“So we tested 16 different mutations, and none of them really had a significant impact. That’s the good news, ”study author and Pfizer scientist Philip Dormitzer Told Reuters Friday. “That doesn’t mean the 17th won’t be.

This is because no research has yet been done on another disturbing mutation seen in the South African variant, called E484K. And while it may be difficult for a single mutation to affect the effectiveness of the vaccine, experts have warned that multiple mutations in a variant could collectively change it enough to avoid the antibodies provided by the vaccine, at least partially weakening the effectiveness of a vaccine. In other words, these results are encouraging, but there is still a lot of cross-checking to be done.

Dormitzer and his team – and no doubt other scientists – will continue to test the vaccine against New mutations and variants, with data from this research expected to be available in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the real world may provide some useful information in the near future. So far, around 17 million people around the world have received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine (most require two doses), including 6.25 million Americans. In in the middle of a still-pandemic raging, more cases of these variants are reported around the world. If our vaccines aren’t working as efficiently as they should because of these new versions of the virus, we’ll find out soon enough.