RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Preliminary data from a study at Oxford University indicate that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca PLC is effective against the P1 or Brazilian variant, a source with knowledge of the study, and Reuters. Friday.
The data indicate that it will not be necessary to modify the vaccine to protect against the variant, which is believed to have originated in the Amazonian city of Manaus, said the source, who requested anonymity as the results have not yet have been made public.
The source did not provide the exact efficacy of the vaccine against the variant. They said the full results of the study should be published soon, possibly in March.
Early results indicated that the AstraZeneca vaccine was less effective against the South African variant, which is similar to P1. Subsequently, South Africa stopped the use of the vaccine in the country.
The information is presented as a small sample study suggests that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac may not work effectively against the Brazilian variant.
In response to a request for comment, Fiocruz, who sent the samples that formed the basis of the study, told Reuters that he had no information about the study, as it was run by AstraZeneca and the University of ‘Oxford.
Representatives from AstraZeneca and Oxford University did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Brazil is currently facing a brutal and enduring second wave of coronavirus, which hit a daily record of 1,910 deaths on Wednesday.
The P1 variant is one of the factors that epidemiologists believe contributes to the increase in cases and deaths, and there has been concern in the scientific community about the resistance of the variant to vaccines.
Report by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Written by Gram Slattery; Edited by Hugh Lawson