Scientists are working hard to see if mutations found in new variants of the coronavirus could obviate the immunity it offers. vaccines currently being developed. Tthe first results of this work are encouraging: They suggest that the Pfizer vaccine is still effective against a major mutation found in these variants. Hhowever, further research is needed before we are completely reassured.
Preliminary results were released this week on the bioRXiv prepress website by a team of scientists from Pfizer and the medical branch of the University of Texas. They collected blood samples from people who had been completely vaccinated and tested them against virus strains carrying the N501Y mutation, which has been seen in variants first found in the UK and South Africa and is believed to be one of the important reasons why these strains they are more transmissible. Sscientists have concerned that the mutation could change the structure of the virus enough to allow it to “escape” from the detection of the immune system of survivors or vaccinated people.
A la in tests, the blood of these patients still proved to be able to neutralize the N501Y strain of the virus, working as well as against other variants. This indicates that this single mutation will not protect the virus from our existence weapons. The team has also tested other mutations observed in variants in the UK or South Africa and found similar results.
“So we’ve now tested 16 different mutations, and none of them have really had any significant impact. That’s the good news,” said Pfizer study author and scientist Philip Dormitzer. he said Reuters Friday. “That doesn’t mean he won’t do it on the 17th.”
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In fact, no research has yet been done on another worrying mutation seen in the South African variant, called E484K. And while it may be difficult for a single mutation to affect the effectiveness of the vaccine, experts do warned that multiple mutations in one variant could change it collectively enough to avoid antibodies provided by the vaccine, at least partially weakening the effectiveness of a vaccine. In other words, these findings are promising, but there are still many verifications to be made.
Dormitzer and his team — and no doubt other scientists — will continue to test the vaccine us mutations and variants, with data from this research being said to be available in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the real world could provide useful information in the near future. To date, about 17 million people worldwide have them received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine (most require two doses), including 6.25 million Americans. Jon in the middle of a stationaryfurious pandemic, more cases of these variants are occurring reported around the world. If our vaccines do not work as effectively as expected due to these new versions of the virus, we will know soon enough.