LONDON — A coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech appears to be effective against a key mutation in the more infectious variants of the virus discovered in the U.K. and South Africa, according to a study conducted by the U.S. pharmaceutical giant.
It comes as countries scramble to contain the variants that are significantly more transmissible, with public health experts anxious about the potential impact on inoculation efforts.
“Pfizer and BioNTech have tested sera from people immunized with the BNT162b2 vaccine for its ability to neutralize multiple mutant strains,” a Pfizer spokesperson told CNBC via email on Friday, referring to the official name of the Covid vaccine.
“To date, we have found consistent coverage of all the strains tested. The two companies are now generating data on how well sera from people immunized with BNT162b2, may be able to neutralize new strains.”
‘We urgently need data’
Researchers hope to have more data on whether the vaccines work against other mutations found in the U.K. and South Africa variants in the coming weeks, Reuters reported.
“It’s important to note that the study does not actually examine these variants directly but only focuses on one single mutation in these variants (the 501Y mutation),” Dr. Deepti Gurdasani, clinical epidemiologist at Queen Mary University of London, told CNBC via email on Friday.
“So, while it’s reassuring that one mutation within these variants is not associated with escape from vaccines, at least in the laboratory, we urgently need data on these mutations, and preferably on the variant virus with a combination of mutations, as these may act differently in combination.
