Pfizer Covid vaccine DOES work against mutant UK strain, new findings reveal
PFIZER'S Covid vaccine is likely to protect against the mutant strain of coronavirus first discovered in the UK, new findings suggest.
The encouraging results come amid growing fears that the variant, dubbed B.1.1.7, may reduce the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines.
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They will also provide further hope after Britain recorded its deadliest day in the pandemic on Tuesday.
The results are based on extensive blood analysis of participants in trials of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab - the first Covid vaccine approved for use in the UK.
In the new study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, researchers collected blood samples from 16 people who had received the Pfizer vaccine in previous clinical trials.
They found that a lab-made version of the virus - with all the mutations resembling the B.1.1.7 variant - was neutralised by antibodies.
The researchers said their results indicate its is "unlikely that the B.1.1.7 lineage will escape BNT162b2-mediated (Pfizer/BionTech vaccine) protection".
It came as:
- Boris Johnson launches top secret plan to ease UK lockdown at Easter
- Priti Patel says ‘we have a long way to go’ before lifting Covid lockdown
- Daily Covid vaccine figures 'slump by nearly HALF in past four days'
- Yet rogue councils have offered jabs to staff before vulnerable over-70s
- Israeli experts claim one dose of Pfizer vaccine ‘only 33% effective’
- Sir Patrick Vallance warns face masks and indoor restrictions may be needed next winter
A similar study from the pharmaceutical giant earlier this month showed the vaccine to be effective against a key mutation called N501Y.
The mutation is present in the UK variant, as well as another highly transmissible new variant that has emerged in South Africa.
Pfizer said it had tested 16 different mutations in the variants and none had any significant impact on how the vaccine worked.
Prof Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick Medical School, said: "This is a reassuring result but doesn’t address the effect of current vaccines on infection with other variant viruses including those identified in South Africa and Brazil."
Dr Ayfer Ali, who specialises in drug development at Warwick, added: "The more mutations, the higher the likelihood that the vaccine might not work, so the fact that the vaccine creates antibodies capable of neutralising this variant with more mutation is more reassuring.
“It remains to be seen if the Pfizer vaccine will protect against other variants as some mutations are more significant than others."
Researchers say they plan to publish a more detailed analysis of the likely effect of its vaccine on the South African variant within a few days.
The variants are said to be more transmissible than previously dominant ones, but they are not thought to cause more serious illness.
Experts have called for continued testing to establish whether vaccines will protect people as the virus mutates.
AstraZeneca, Moderna and CureVac are also testing whether their respective shots will protect against the fast-spreading variants.
'SERIOUS CONCERNS'
It comes after the UK's chief scientific adviser today expressed concern that the South African variant may be able to evade vaccines.
Sir Patrick Vallance told Sky News that Covid mutations are a "real issue of concern" and there are unanswered questions as to whether the immune system will be able to attack the "more worrying" strains.
The variant from South Africa - and another from Brazil - share a mutation called E484K, which is known to essentially evade some antibodies.
Whereas the UK variant, first detected in Kent, does not have this mutation.
There is still a possibility it will dodge antibodies, but Sir Patrick said this seems unlikely.
Sir Patrick told Sky today: "We should get information on clinical effects because vaccinations are occurring in South Africa, in Brazil and other places variants may occur, so we should get some more information on that.
"They are more worrying in the sense they are a little more different in terms of how the immune system recognises them.
"It is a real issue of concern. It's something we need to keep an eye on.
"But we don't have all the answers yet. I would just caution the laboratory studies are not perfect predictors so we need to get clinical data."
JAB BLOW
He also highlighted Israel's claims that efficacy from the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine may be as low as three per cent.
Sir Patrick said studies showed that from day 10 after vaccination to 21 days and beyond, it was "much more like 89 per cent".
However, he admitted "when you get into real-world practice things are seldom quite as good as clinical trials".
He added: "It probably won't be as high as that in practice, but I don't think it'll be as low as the figures you've just given."
The findings have raised questions over the UK’s plans to delay the second dose for three months.
The UK Government’s vaccine advisors said the efficacy of the vaccine was 89 per cent, starting 14 days after the first dose.
"Short term protection from dose one is very high," the JCVI announced in a statement in December.
It was for this reason that decisions were made to give people their second dose after 12 weeks, rather than three, in order to speed up the roll-out and "save many lives".
JAB SUPPLY WOES
The findings today come amid fears of a drop-off in vaccine supplies figures.
Pfizer have told Britain that some of its promised vaccine deliveries will be delayed as it reorganises its production.
Medics in England carried out 170,900 jabs on Tuesday - well below the daily record of 324,711 vaccinations dished out last Friday.
And it is significantly lower than the number of jabs carried out last Wednesday and Thursday, which were around 250,000 and 275,000 respectively.
Home Secretary Priti Patel told Good Morning Britain: "I think it was inevitable that the likes of Pfizer, AZ (AstraZeneca) are reconfiguring their supply chains and their ability to process and manufacture the vaccine - demand is just enormous and beyond comprehension.
"I think it is fair to say that this will make it challenging in terms of having a streamlined approach to the delivery of the vaccine.
"There are going to be inconsistencies in terms of vaccine rollout and we are seeing that."
Asel Sartbaeva, a vaccine specialist from the University of Bath, said there was a "big problem" with delivery due in part to a shortage of the equipment needed to store the vaccines at low temperatures - down to minus 70C in the case of the Pfizer vaccine.
She said the Government had failed to take advantage of equipment in university laboratories or equipment that was normally used for transporting food.
"The Government is not thinking laterally and that is not using the equipment that is available at the moment because of the lockdown and could be used for this," she told BBC2's Newsnight.
A government source said ministers were concerned about about reaching the targeted 15 million vaccinations of vulnerable people by mid-February.
"It's going to be very, very tight," the source told The Times.
The PM has admitted his vaccination targets are “ambitious” and a “stretch” - but insists it is right to shoot high.
The rollout of the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine has also caused concerns.
Ministers were hoping to receive two million doses of the vaccine per week in January, but Astrazeneca said it may not be able to meet that target until next month.
What do we know about Brazilian variant?
(P1)
The Brazilian variant (P1) has three key mutations in the spike receptor binding domain (RBD) that largely mirror some of the mutations experts are worried about in the South African variant.
The coronavirus RBD is one of the main targets for our immune defences and also the region targeted by vaccines. Changes within this region are therefore worrisome.
Experts detected the new variant circulating in December in Manaus, north Brazil.
It is not yet known if the mutation causes more severe Covid-19, but evidence suggests it may be more transmissible.
Porton Down scientists are conducting more analysis to confirm evidence that indicates the strain does not cause any higher mortality rate or that it affects the vaccines or treatments.
It was detected in Brazil and in travellers from Brazil to Japan, and contains a unique constellation of lineage defining mutations.
Like the South African variant, the Brazilian one carries a mutation in the spike protein called E484K, which is not present in the UK strain.
The E484K mutation has been shown to reduce antibody recognition, helping the virus to bypass immune protection provided by prior infection or vaccination.
Scientists analysing the Brazilian variant say the mutations it shares with the South African variant seem to be associated with a rapid increase in cases in locations where previous attack rates are thought to be very high.
They say it is therefore essential to rapidly investigate whether there is an increased rate of re-infection in previously exposed individuals.
The other Brazilian variant (P2)
This one has been detected in the UK, but experts say it is no cause for concern.
It has been reported to be spreading in the Rio de Janeiro State, and is associated with two independent reinfection cases in Brazil, according to the Covid-19 Genomics UK (Cog-UK) consortium.
While it also carries the E484K mutation, it is not currently considered sufficient to designate it as a "Variant of Concern".
This variant (P2) does not contain the other important mutations carried by the more concerning variant (P1).
According to Cog-UK, although some cases of the P2 have been detected in the UK, other variants with this mutation have also been observed.
Cog-UK said that as of January 15, 11 cases of the variant had been detected in the UK.
Analysis of both variants is ongoing.
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It comes after the UK recorded a further 1,610 Covid deaths on Tuesday - the highest number reported on a single day since the outbreak began.
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Public Health England (PHE) said the figure - for those who had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 - brought the UK total to 91,470.
Separate figures published by the UK's statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 108,000 deaths involving the virus in the UK.