BioNTech-Pfizer Vaccine ‘Neutralises’ UK Strain, Says Manufacturer

Preliminary study indicates the vaccine works against key mutation in the new COVID-19 strain, says BioNTech.

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German company BioNTech said on Friday, 8 January that a preliminary study indicates that its vaccine works against the key mutation in the the more transmissible COVID-19 strain first found in the United Kingdom and in South Africa, News18 reported.

Tests show that "antibodies from people who have received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine effectively neutralise SARS-CoV-2 with a key mutation that is also found in two highly transmissible strains," News18 quoted the German firm as saying.

Earlier, BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin had said that it’s unclear if the vaccine is able to provide protection against the new variant, however, “scientifically, it is highly likely that the immune response by this vaccine also can deal with the new virus variants.”

The firm had said that since the proteins on the variant were 99 percent the same as the previous strain, it had “scientific confidence” that its vaccine will work against the new strain.

The new UK variant has already been reported by Denmark, Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Japan, Lebanon and Singapore.

(With inputs from Associated Press and News18)