Pfizer Inc and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine appears able to protect against a key mutation in the highly transmissible new variants of the coronavirus discovered in Britain and South Africa, according to a laboratory study conducted by the U.S. drugmaker.
The study by Pfizer and scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, indicated the vaccine was effective in neutralizing variants with the so-called N501Y mutation, situated on a portion of the virus that it uses to enter and infect cells.
All of the vaccines already approved or in development use this outer portion of the virus, known as the spike protein, to train the body to recognize the virus and make virus-neutralizing antibodies.
The N501Y mutation is linked to greater transmissibility, and scientists have expressed concerns it could also allow the virus to escape the neutralizing antibodies produced in response to the vaccine, said Phil Dormitzer, one of Pfizer’s top viral vaccine scientists.
The first results of tests on some of the key variants of concern offer some hope as Britain and other countries try to tame the more infectious variants, which authorities believe are driving a surge in infections that could overwhelm healthcare systems.
Although all viruses mutate constantly, scientists are concerned about the mutations first discovered in Britain and South Africa because they are believed to be capable of altering key functions of the virus.
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