NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Pfizer Inc and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine appeared to have worked against mutation in the newly transmitted strains of the coronavirus detected in the UK and South Africa , according to a laboratory study conducted by a U.S. drug manufacturer.
The peer-reviewed study by Pfizer and scientists from the Medical Branch of the University of Texas showed that the vaccine was effective in neutralizing a virus called N501Y of spike protein.
The combination could lead to increased transmission and there were concerns that it could also cause the vaccine-neutralizing antibody-acquired virus, said Phil Dormitzer, a leading vaccine scientist viral Pfizer.
The test was done on blood taken from people who received the vaccine. His conclusions are limited, as he does not look at the full set of strains found in one of the new variants of the rapidly spreading virus.
Dormitzer said he was encouraged that the vaccine appears to be effective against mumps, in addition to 15 other mutations that the company has previously tested.
“So we’ve now tested 16 different mutations, none of which have had any significant effects. That’s the good news, ”he said. “That doesn’t mean the 17th will not be. ”
Dormitzer noted that another mutation found in the South African version, called the E484K mutation, is also of concern.
The researchers plan to run similar tests to see if the vaccine is effective against other mutations found in the UK and South Africa and hope to have more data within weeks.
Scientists have expressed concern that the spread of vaccines may not be able to protect against the new variants, especially the one that appeared in South Africa.
Simon Clarke, an associate professor of cell microbiology at Reading University, said this week that while both variations had some new features, the one found in South Africa “with several additional mutations ”that included broader changes to the protein spike.
The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine and the one from Moderna Inc, which uses synthetic messenger RNA technology, can be quickly screened to deal with new mutations of virus if necessary. Scientists have said the changes could be made in as little as six weeks.
Reporting by Michael Erman; Edited by Bill Berkrot and Edwina Gibbs