Pfizer Vaccine Appears to Be Effective against UK COVID Variant: Study
By Mary Papenfuss
A new study indicates that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is effective against the more contagious COVID-19 variant that was first discovered in Britain and is spreading across the world.
The variant, known as B.1.1.7, has been traced to at least 10 states, and will likely become the prominent version of the disease in the US by March. Researchers believe the variant is at least 50% more contagious than the standard strain of COVID-19.
The study, released this week, is preliminary. It was conducted by scientists working for Pfizer and BioNTech, and has not yet been peer reviewed. But the findings support research earlier this month that the vaccine had equivalent “neutralizing” effects on a key mutation in both the British variant and one that was discovered in South Africa.
In the latest study, scientists created pseudo-viruses to mimic the variant for testing. They discovered that blood taken from subjects who had received the Pfizer vaccine neutralized the pseudo-viruses. The findings “make it unlikely that the B.1.1.7 lineage will escape” the protection of the Pfizer vaccine, researchers concluded.
The incoming director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rochelle Walensky, said in a video interview earlier this week with the editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association that the Pfizer vaccine is so effective that there’s a “little bit of a cushion” concerning variants.
Deborah Fuller, a professor in the department of microbiology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, is also optimistic that effective vaccines will continue to provide protection from variants, even if it’s somewhat reduced.
“With some of these vaccines being above 90% effectiveness, the expectation is that ― in a worst-case scenario with some of these mutations ― it might say drop to say 85% effectiveness, which is still very effective,” she told HuffPost.
Scientists are currently also testing the vaccine against other concerning variants that are cropping up, particularly those discovered in Brazil and South Africa, which also appear to be more transmissible. People who contract those strains appear in addition to be more vulnerable to reinfection more quickly after an initial case of COVID-19, Stat reported. - HuffPost
WHO Issues New Clinical Advice for Covid-19 Treatment
The World Health Organization (WHO) issued fresh clinical advice on Tuesday for treating Covid-19 patients, including those displaying persistent symptoms after recovery, and also said it advised using low-dose anti-coagulants to prevent blood clots.
“The other things in the guidance that are new are that Covid-19 patients at home should have the use of pulse oximetry, that’s measuring the oxygen levels, so you can identify whether somewhat at home is deteriorating and would be better off having hospital care,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a UN briefing in Geneva.
The WHO advised clinicians to put patients into the awake prone position, on their front, shown to improve the oxygen flow, she said.
Moderna Says Covid-19 Vaccine Appears to Be Effective against New Variants
Moderna said on Monday it plans to start clinical trials of an altered booster version of its Covid-19 vaccine aimed at the South African variant after tests showed its authorized vaccine may produce a diminished antibody response.
It will also test an additional booster shot of its authorized vaccine in trials to see if it boosts antibody reaction against the South Africa variant. The current regimen is for two shots four weeks apart.
The company said in a press release that it was being cautious and that the two-dose regimen of the vaccine was still expected to be protective against the South African and other variants detected to date.
The company said the vaccine did not see any impact from the UK variant - which has been shown to be more transmissible - in the tests.
The company said it plans to publish data from its tests against the South African and UK variants on the website bioRxiv.
Lilly Covid Antibodies Cut Hospitalisations and Deaths
US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly's combination of two synthetic antibodies against Covid-19 reduced hospitalizations and deaths by 70 percent in high-risk patients with recent positive tests, the company said Tuesday.
"Bamlanivimab and etesevimab together have the potential to be an important treatment that significantly reduces hospitalizations and death in high-risk Covid-19 patients," Lilly's chief scientific officer Daniel Skovronsky said.
The results meant that the phase 3 trial involving 1,035 people achieved its main goal, and the study also met its secondary goals of reducing patients' viral load and their time to recover from the disease.
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