Pfizer, Moderna Testing Their Vaccines Against New Coronavirus Strain Found In The United Kingdom

Washington: Pfizer and Moderna are testing their coronavirus vaccines to see if they work against the new mutated version of the virus that’s recently been found in the United Kingdom and other countries, CNN reported. “Based on the data to date, we expect that the Moderna vaccine-induced immunity would be protective against the variants recently described in the UK,” Moderna said in a statement adding, “We will be performing additional tests in the coming weeks to confirm this expectation.”.

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According to CNN, Pfizer said it is now “generating data” on how well blood samples from people immunized with its vaccine “may be able to neutralize the new strain from the UK.”

Pfizer and Moderna make the only two coronavirus vaccines that have been authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration.

The novel coronavirus has mutated before, and both companies say they’ve found that their vaccines worked against other variations of the virus.

Some researchers who are examining the genome of the UK variant told CNN they have concerns that this variant’s mutations might possibly “somewhat diminish” the effectiveness of the vaccine.

“You could imagine some modest hit in vaccine efficacy, which wouldn’t be good, but I don’t think it would break the vaccine,” said Trevor Bedford, an associate professor in the vaccine and infectious disease division of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

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Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on Monday said that a new COVID-19 variant linked to surge of cases in the United Kingdom is probably already in the United States. “You have to make that assumption,” Dr. Fauci told PBS Newshour’s Judy Woodruff as quoted by CNN.

When you see something that is pretty prevalent in a place like the UK, there are also mutations that we’re seeing in South Africa, and given the travel throughout the world, I would not be surprised if it’s already here, he added.

He added that “when we start to look for it we’re going to find it.”

Certainly it’s not yet the prevalent one, the way it seems to have assumed that prevalent nature in the UK, but we’re going to be looking for it right now, and I’m sure sooner or later we’re going to run into it and find it, Dr. Fauci said.

The new strain of COVID-19 is “out of control”, said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Sunday (December 20).

The only way you can do that is by restricting social contacts and essentially, especially in Tier 4 areas, everybody needs to behave as if they may well have the virus and that is the way that we can get it under control and keep people safe, he added.

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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.