Topline
As dozens of countries around the world isolate the U.K. in a bid to contain a new, rapidly-spreading variant of Covid-19, leading vaccine manufacturers Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna are testing their shots against the strain and said Tuesday that they are confident their vaccines remain effective against the mutated virus although testing to confirm this may take weeks.
Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna are all testing their Covid-19 vaccines against a new variant spreading … [+]
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Key Facts
U.K. officials say the new variant could be up to 70% more transmissible, though there is no evidence yet to suggest that it is more dangerous or able to make the virus less susceptible to vaccines, though further research will be needed to confirm this.
BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin said he is confident the company’s vaccine will remain effective against the new variant, adding that “scientifically, it is highly likely that the immune response by this vaccine also can deal with the new virus variants.”
The only way to know for certain if the vaccine is effective is “if the experiment is done,” Sahin said, a process that will take “about two weeks.”
Pfizer, who developed the vaccine with BioNTech, says it has already started “generating data” on whether blood samples from those vaccinated is “able to neutralize the new strain from the U.K.”
In a statement, Moderna, the maker of the second vaccine approved for emergency use in the U.S., said that the data available so far indicates that “the Moderna vaccine-induced immunity would be protective against the variants recently described in the U.K.”.
“We will be performing additional tests in the coming weeks to confirm this expectation,” the company said.
Key Background
Over 40 countries around the world are closing their borders to travel from Britain after the fast-spreading Covid-19 strain was found spreading across London and the south-east of England. While politicians described it as “out of control,” scientists urged caution while further research is done to understand the mutant. Mutations are natural, normal and very common, especially in a virus that has only been spreading through a population for about a year. Many mutations have no effect whatsoever on the virus’s behavior but some can confer changes, such as greater transmissibility, inducing more serious illness in those infected or allowing it to evade the body’s immune system. These mutations are natural and expected by scientists; it’s why flu shots are needed on an annual basis rather than once in a lifetime. For those developing vaccines, it’s important to keep an eye on mutants in areas that vaccines use to train the immune system. In the case of Covid-19, this is usually the virus’s spike protein, which is used to enter cells. This variant has a number of mutations to the spike protein, which is why manufacturers are testing to ensure efficacy is retained.
What To Watch For
In the unlikely event that the new variant is able to evade the protection given by current Covid-19 vaccines, manufacturers will return to the development stage. This isn’t uncommon in the vaccine field, and scientists must return to the drawing board every year for rapidly-mutating viruses like influenza (flu). Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna are all using a new type of technology for vaccines based on messenger RNA (mRNA). Unlike many other vaccines which rely on weakened or dead viruses that must be grown in vast quantities, this molecule can simply be tweaked as needed and put back into the vaccine. “mRNA is fantastic because you can just swap a new strain and run with it,” Moderna’s CEO, Stéphane Bancel, previously told Forbes.
Big Number
6 weeks. That’s how long Sahin thinks it will take to adjust the vaccine for the new variant, if required. Regulatory approval, however, will likely take much longer.
Surprising Fact
There is another mutant variant, similar to the one spreading in the U.K., proliferating in South Africa. While similar and seemingly able to transmit more effectively, it has evolved separately from the U.K. variant that is currently causing concern.
Tangent
The discovery of a new mutant strain in Denmark, linked to mink farms, raised worries of a strain able to evade the vaccines being developed. The Danish prime minister ordered the culling of the country’s entire 17-million-strong herd in order to contain the threat. While the strain, believed to threaten the effectiveness of vaccines currently in development, is now thought to be extinct, the World Health Organization is investigating mink farms for their role in spreading the disease.
Further Reading
Growing Number Of European Countries Cut Off Travel With U.K. As New Coronavirus Strain Spreads (Forbes)
New Research Finds No Evidence That Mutations Increase The Spread Of Covid-19 (Forbes)
Denmark, Fearing New Vaccine-Threatening Coronavirus Strain, Orders Cull Of 17 Million Minks (Forbes)
Pfizer and Moderna are testing their vaccines against UK coronavirus variant (CNN)
