The Pfizer vaccine appears to work against some of the mutations in coronavirus variants in South Africa and the United Kingdom.
Getty / Fredrik Lerneryd
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Variants of the coronavirus that spread across the UK and South Africa last month are being heavily examined in laboratories around the world, as scientists try to control the degree of threat that the mutant strains pose. One of the main concerns is that new variants may escape current vaccines, including the two developed by Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna which are being launched in the United States.
On Thursday, a Reuters report describing a new study showed that the Pfizer vaccine can effectively neutralize variants with a mutation known as N501Y, which appeared in variants found in South Africa and in the UK variant, known as B .1.1.7, regardless. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed, but can be found in the bioRxiv prepress deposit.
“It is preliminary, but it definitely suggests that the vaccine will also work against these variants,” said Larisa Labzin, an immunologist at the University of Queensland.
Coronaviruses mutate constantly as they pass from human to human and, in most cases, do not significantly alter the virus. A handful of mutations, however, including those in the B.1.1.7 strain, appear to allow the virus to spread more quickly. These changes occur at the peak of the virus, a critical protein that allows the virus to enter and hijack human cells.
When the news that B.1.1.7 was more transmissible first appeared, there was reason to be cautious. The new data was initially provided by Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a press conference in the United Kingdom on 19 December. While scientists have signaled their concern, it was too early to say how the mutations may have changed the characteristics of the virus. Simply put, we needed more data.
It is important to note that the new variant does not appear to be more deadly, as Johnson noted in his presser. “There is no evidence that the variant causes more serious illness or higher mortality, but it appears to be transmitted much more easily,” he said. However, scientists were concerned about the variant’s potential to escape current vaccines.
They collected antibodies from people who were immunized with the vaccine and checked whether those antibodies can still stop the new variants, with a critical change in their peak protein
But in the weeks that followed, the variant appeared in several locations around the world, including the United States and Australia, where it violated the hotel quarantine system and forced the city of Brisbane to an immediate three-day blockade. Concern has grown across the globe and many nations have increased scrutiny at their borders or closed them completely to UK travelers.
To test the ability of current vaccines against the new variants, Pfizer used blood serum from 20 individuals who received the vaccine. This serum contains antibodies to the vaccine and can be tested against viruses with different mutations in the laboratory. The provisional 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 that the 17th won’t go.”
It will be crucial to test other aspects of the immune response, 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 peak protein than just the one they tested on this variant, but it is definitely positive news,” she said.
If the variants mutate in such a way that the effectiveness of current vaccines begins to decrease, we do not need to go back to the design. This is thanks to the “plug-and-play” nature of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. These vaccines use mRNA and can potentially be “recoded” within a few months to combat new variants. However, while technology allows this, this has never been tested before.
The information in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended for medical or health advice. Always consult a doctor or other qualified healthcare professional regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health goals.