[ad_1]
The Pfizer vaccine appears to work against some of the mutations in variants of the coronavirus from South Africa and the United Kingdom.
Getty / Fredrik Lerneryd
For the most up-to-date news and information on the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO website.
The coronavirus variants that have swept through the UK and South Africa in the past month are coming under intense scrutiny in labs around the world as scientists try to determine the threat posed by mutated strains. One of the main concerns is that the new variants may evade current vaccines, including the two developed by Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna that are currently being rolled out in the US.
On Thursday, a Reuters report describing a new study showed that Pfizer’s vaccine can effectively neutralize variants with a mutation known as N501Y, which arose in variants found in South Africa and the UK variant, known as B.1.1. 7, independently. The study has not yet been peer reviewed, but can be found in the bioRxiv preprint repository.
“It’s preliminary, but it definitely suggests that the vaccine will work against these variants as well,” said Larisa Labzin, an immunologist at the University of Queensland.
Coronaviruses constantly mutate as they pass from one human to another, and for the most part, they do not significantly alter the virus. However, a handful of mutations, including those in the B.1.1.7 strain, appear to allow the virus to spread more rapidly. These changes occur at the peak of the virus, a critical protein that allows the virus to enter and take over human cells.
When the news that B.1.1.7 was more transmissible first emerged, there was reason to be cautious. The new data was initially provided by Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a press conference in the UK on December 19. While scientists noted their concern, it was too early to say how the mutations may have changed the characteristics of the virus. In short, we needed more data.
Importantly, the new variant does not appear to be any more deadly, as Johnson noted in his press. “There is no evidence that the variant causes more severe disease or higher mortality, but it appears to be transmitted much more easily,” he said. However, scientists were concerned about the variant’s potential to evade our current vaccines.
They took antibodies from people who had been immunized with the vaccine and checked if those antibodies can still stop the new variants, with a critical change in their spike protein.
But in the weeks since, the variant has turned up in numerous locations around the world, including the US and Australia, where it violated the hotel’s quarantine system and forced the city of Brisbane into an immediate three-day shutdown. The biggest concern has spread across the globe and many nations have increased scrutiny on their borders or closed them entirely to travelers from the UK.
To test the ability of current vaccines against the new variants, Pfizer used blood serum from 20 people who had received the vaccine. This serum contains antibodies against the vaccine and can be tested against viruses with different mutations in the laboratory. Interim results look good.
“So now we have tested 16 different mutations and none of them have really had a significant impact. That’s the good news,” Phil Dormitzer, a viral vaccine scientist at Pfizer, told Reuters.
“That doesn’t mean 17 won’t.”
Testing other aspects of the immune response will be critical, Labzin said, such as how specialized white blood cells respond to infection with the variant after vaccination. Other mutations in the variants will also be examined.
“There are more mutations in the spike protein than just what they tested in this variant, but it’s definitely positive news,” he said.
If the variants mutated in such a way that they began to decrease the effectiveness of current vaccines, we don’t have to go back to the drawing board. That’s thanks to the “plug-n-play” nature of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. These vaccines use mRNA and can potentially be “recoded” in a few months to combat new variants. However, while technology allows it, this has never been tested before.
The information in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to be medical or health advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified healthcare provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health goals.
