The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine appears to protect against a mutation that has been found in two highly contagious variants of coronavirus which have spread from the UK and South Africa.
NEW YORK New research suggests the COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech can still work against a mutated coronavirus.
Two variants one discovered in Britain, the other in South Africa share a common mutation that’s believed to be the reason they are more contagious. Called N501Y, it is a slight alteration on one spot of the spike protein that coats the virus.
Most of the vaccines 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.