Prognosis
Pfizer-BioNTech Covid Shot Neutralizes Brazilian Strain in Lab
- Shot has ‘robust but lower’ activity vs. South Africa variant
- Research supported by Pfizer, BioNTech must be validated
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The Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE showed a high ability to neutralize coronavirus strains first detected in Brazil, the U.K. and South Africa, according to a new study.
In lab experiments, the shot demonstrated “roughly equivalent” levels of neutralizing activity against the Brazil and U.K. strains compared with a version of the virus from early last year. It also showed “robust but lower” activity against the South Africa variant, according to a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine.