Pfizer Vaccine Effective Against COVID-19 Variant Found in UK, Study Finds

Pfizer and BioNTech released new study results yesterday indicating their COVID-19 vaccine would likely induce immunity for all 10 mutations on the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 viral strain identified in the UK, but other research suggests the vaccine might not be effective against new variants.

The latest Pfizer/BioNTech findings, posted on the preprint server bioRxiv, build off an earlier study from the drugmakers released this month suggesting the vaccine would be effective for a single mutation of the UK variant B.1.1.7., called the N501Y spike mutation (DID, Jan. 11).

For the new study, the researchers generated pseudoviruses with the same mutations as the UK variant and then introduced them to 16 individuals who had received the vaccine. The results showed that the vaccine worked as well for the variant strain as for the unmutated coronavirus.

But BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin, who co-authored the study report, cautioned that the “ongoing evolution of SARS-CoV-2 necessitates continuous monitoring” of the level of protection of currently authorized vaccines. But his team opined that the “flexibility of mRNA-based vaccine technology” should enable the vaccine to be adapted to the UK strain.

A Pfizer spokesperson said it was too early to tell what the findings mean for other variants. “We are encouraged by these early study findings, but further data are needed to monitor the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine’s effectiveness in preventing COVID-19 caused by new virus variants, including the E484K variant found in South Africa,” the spokesperson told FDAnews.

Not all of the research supports the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine’s efficacy against variant coronavirus strains. On Tuesday, researchers at Rockefeller University reported the results of a study that tested both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in 20 volunteers against COVID-19 mutated variants identified in the UK, South Africa and Brazil. They claim to have found reduced efficacy levels for the vaccine when used on the variants.

The results suggest that messenger-RNA vaccines, such as those from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, “may need to be updated periodically to avoid potential loss of efficacy,” the researchers said.

Another new variant has been identified by researchers at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, dubbed CAL.20C. That mutated strain was found in more than a third of local infections, which may be contributing to surging cases in Southern California. And it is not yet clear if the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine offers protection against this variant.

Click to read the Pfizer/BioNTech study: bit.ly/3iyfN6U.

Click to read the Rockefeller University study: bit.ly/2M9K401. ― Jason Scott