Pfizer says the South African COVID-19 variant reduces vaccine protection

Laboratory research insinuates that the South African variant of the COVID-19 could reduce the antibody protection offered by the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine by two-thirds, and it is not clear whether the shot is effective against the mutation; the companies said. According to the study, the vaccine can neutralize the virus, and there is still no evidence from human trials that the variant reduces the protection of the vaccine, the companies said on Wednesday.

Yet they make investments and talk to regulators about developing an updated version of their mRNA vaccine or an enhancer shot, if necessary.

For the study, specialists from the corporations and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) formed a manufactured virus containing the same mutations carried on the peak portion of the highly contagious coronavirus modification first found in South Africa and known as B.1.351. The peak used by the infection to enter human cells, is the primary purpose of many COVID-19 vaccines.

Researchers examined the superintended virus upon blood taken from individuals who received the vaccine and found that the level of neutralizing antibodies decreased by two-thirds compared to the effect on the most common version of the virus found in US trials prevent.

Their findings were proclaimed in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

As there is no standard yet to determine which antibodies are needed to protect against the virus, it is unclear whether reducing two-thirds will make the vaccine ineffective against the variant that is spreading around the world.

However, UTMB professor and study author Pei-Yong Shi said he believes the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is likely to protect against the variant.

'We do not know what the minimum neutralizing number is. We do not have a cut-off point, '' he said, adding that he suspected the observed immune response was likely to be significantly higher than it should be to provide protection. This is because both the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and a similar uptake of Moderna Inc in clinical trials provide some protection after a single dose with an antibody response lower than the South African variant's reduced levels in the laboratory study cause.

Even if the variant in question significantly reduces its effectiveness, the vaccine should still protect against serious diseases and death, he noted. Health experts said it was the most critical factor in preventing protracted healthcare systems from being destroyed.

More work is required to understand whether the vaccine works on the South African variant, Shi said, including clinical examinations and the development of correlates of security - individual criteria for determining which antibody levels are protective.

Pfizer and BioNTech said they are doing similar laboratory work to understand if their vaccine is effective against another variant first found in Brazil.