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Concerns have been raised about how effective coronavirus vaccines are against the new South African variant, as new research from Pfizer suggests their vaccine might still work.
Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps expressed concern while speaking to Sky News, as the government presented new rule for travelers due to the mutation, requiring everyone arriving in England and Scotland to undergo a negative antigen test 72 hours prior to departure.
“There is concern that the South African in particular – about the efficacy of the vaccine against him – so
I just can’t take chances, “Shapps said.
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The Pfzier jab was the first approved for use in the UK.
In an attempt to allay fears about new variants of the coronavirus discovered in Britain and South Africa, Pfizer published a preliminary new study suggesting that its vaccine, which was the first approved for use in the UK, should still work.
The variants share a common mutation called “N501Y”, a slight alteration in a point of the spike protein that covers the virus – making them easier to spread.
Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch and Pfizer used blood samples from 20 people who received the prick and found that their antibodies successfully defended the virus on laboratory plates.
The study is preliminary and has not yet been peer-reviewed, a key step in medical research.
But “it was a very reassuring finding that at least this mutation, which is one of the most worrying people, does not appear to be a problem” for the vaccine, said Pfizer chief scientist Dr. Philip Dormitzer.
Viruses constantly undergo minor changes as they are passed from person to person.
Scientists have used these slight modifications to track how the coronavirus has moved around the world since it was first detected in China a year ago.
But the variant first discovered in South Africa has an additional mutation to the one found in the UK that has scientists on the edge, called “E484K.”
The Pfizer study found that the vaccine appeared to work against 15 additional possible virus mutations, but E484K was not among those tested. Dr. Dormitzer said he is next on the list.
He added that if the virus eventually mutates enough that the vaccine needs to be adjusted, much like flu vaccines are adjusted most years, modifying the prescription would not be difficult for the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine or the like.
