- The Pfizer study found that the vaccine appeared to work against 15 additional possible virus mutations, but E484K wasn’t among those tested. Dormitzer told it is subsequent on the list.
The NewsDesk, Washington: New research implies that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine can defend against a modification found in two deadly variants of the coronavirus that exploded in Britain and South Africa. Those alternatives are creating a global concern. They both partake a standard mutation called N501Y, a small change on one spot of the spike protein that coats the virus. That difference is the reason that they can spread rapidly.
Most of the vaccines being rolled out around the world train the body to recognize that spike protein and fight it. Pfizer teamed with researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston for laboratory tests to see if the mutation affected its vaccine’s ability to do so.
The study is preceding and has not yet been analyzed by specialists, which becomes an integral step for medical research. Dr. Philip Dormitzer stated that the vaccine Pfizer Chief Scientific Officer, “it was a very reassuring finding that at least this mutation, which was one of the ones people are most concerned about, does not seem to be a problem.”
British scientists have stated that the variant found in the UK – which has become the predominant type in parts of England – still appeared to be susceptive to vaccines. That mutant has now been found in the US and various other countries.
But the modification was first found in South Africa has a new mutation that has scientists on edge, one named E484K.
The Pfizer study found that the vaccine appeared to work against 15 additional possible virus mutations, but E484K wasn’t among those tested. Dormitzer told it is subsequent on the list.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert, recently stated vaccines are planned to identify multiple parts of the spike protein, causing a strange a single mutation could be sufficient to obstruct them. Scientists around the world are investigating several vaccines to find out.
Dormitzer stated that the virus ultimately mutated sufficiently that the vaccine needs changing – much like flu shots are regulated most years – that pinching the recipe wouldn’t be hard for his company’s shot and similar ones. The vaccine is made with a piece of the virus genetic code, simple to switch, although it’s not clear what kind of new testing regulators would need to make such a change.
Dormitzer stated this was only the inception “of ongoing monitoring of virus changes to see if any of them might impact on vaccine coverage.”
Source: Times of India
