The Coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech is likely to be just as effective against a highly transmissible mutant strain of the virus that was first discovered in the U.K., according to a study by the two companies.
The variant, known as B.1.1.7., was estimated to have first emerged in the U.K. in September 2020. It has an unusually high number of mutations and is associated with more efficient and rapid transmission.
The characteristics of the variant had led to concerns about the effectiveness of Covid vaccines against it.
However, research published Wednesday on preprint server bioRxiv showed “no biologically significant difference in neutralization activity” between the laboratory tests on the original strain of the Coronavirus and the variant known as B.1.1.7.
Authors of the study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, warned the rapid spread of Covid variants worldwide required “continuous monitoring of the significance of changes for maintained protection by currently authorized vaccines.”
The UK Coronavirus strain has been detected in at least 60 countries, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, 10 more than a week ago. With the global death toll now well past two million, and new variants of the virus causing deep concern, countries across the world are grappling with how to slow infections until vaccines become widely available. The South African strain, which like the UK one is believed to be more infectious, has now been reported in 23 countries and territories, the WHO also announced in its weekly update.
It added that the number of new deaths climbed to a record high of 93,000 over the previous seven days, with 4.7 million new cases reported over the same period. The UK strain, first detected in mid-December, is thought by the WHO to be between 50 and 70 percent more infectious than the original. While more transmissible, the two variants are not thought to be more deadly and Pfizer and German partner BioNTech have said their vaccines are effective against the mutation found on the British virus variant, known as B117.
(CNBC, AFP)
