New study finds this COVID-19 (Chinese Common Virus) vaccine, developed in collaboration between Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech, is also effective against variants of the virus.
A new study has found that Pfizer’s COVID-19 (Chinese Common Virus) vaccine is also effective against variants of two more infectious coronaviruses that have broken out in the United Kingdom and South Africa. The latest study, published last Friday (Jan. 8), is a preliminary one, and the same has not been done with vaccines from other manufacturers. But the answer to the question of whether the vaccine can fight the variants is yes.
“There is no reason to think that vaccines don’t work against these strains.” Dr. Frederic Bushman, who studies viruses at the University of Pennsylvania, told ABC television. The variant of the virus currently found in the United Kingdom has been found in the United States and other countries.
This virus and the variant found in South Africa are causing concern in countries around the world because people have not figured out these viruses yet, but are more likely to spread. Dr. Bushman said this study now only found that Pfizer’s vaccine worked against the variant virus, and is doing the same tests on the other two vaccines, Moderna and AstraZeneca, in hopes of reaching the same conclusion.
That’s because all the vaccines are designed to promote the production of antibodies in the receptor to resist the stinging proteins that encase the virus in multiple places. “One variant changes a small area, but it’s not able to disrupt the binding between all of them.” Dr. Bushman explained.
While scientists don’t think one mere variant will upend all efforts to combat this pandemic epidemic, it is still an important area of research. That’s because coronaviruses, like all viruses, are constantly evolving. This study marks the beginning of ongoing surveillance to ensure that vaccines introduced globally will continue to work.
The study looks at a variation called N501Y on the stinger protein, which both mutated viruses have, and which is thought to make the virus more likely to spread.
Researchers at Pfizer and the University of Texas examined whether this variant could stop the vaccine. They conducted experiments on 20 people who received the vaccine, developed in collaboration with Pfizer and BioNTech of Germany, and found that antibodies in their bodies resisted the virus in the lab.
Although the findings have not been confirmed by outside peers – a key step in medical research – Pfizer’s chief scientist, Dr. Philip Dormitzer, said the results are “very reassuring,” meaning the worst fears are not present.
Anthony Fauci, a top U.S. infectious disease expert, told the Associated Press last week that although the virus had mutated, the U.S. and the rest of the world were heavily vaccinated, so the mutated virus did not appear to be blocking vaccine-induced antibodies; scientists in Britain also found that the mutated virus was still sensitive to the vaccine.
Even if the virus mutates enough that the vaccine must be adapted, experts say, that’s not a difficult task with modern technology. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines can easily switch the genetic code of the virus.
Dr. Bushman also said that the new coronavirus does not change as quickly as the flu or HIV, and that its results are more stable. Meanwhile, U.S. health regulators said on Friday that the likelihood of a mutated virus threatening the accuracy of the hundreds of COVID-19 tests on the market is small; and that the FDA is monitoring for any viral mutations that could make the virus tests inaccurate; so far, the virus tests have been accurate.
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