Pfizer and Moderna, the two companies whose COVID-19 vaccines have been rolled out in the US, are testing their pricks to see if they are effective against the new strain that is spreading across the UK and other countries, according to a report.
“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, CNN reported.
“We will be conducting additional tests in the coming weeks to confirm this expectation,” he added.
Pfizer said it “generates data” on how well blood samples from people immunized with its injection “would be able to neutralize the new strain from the UK,” the network said.
Both companies said they discovered their vaccines worked against other variants of the new coronavirus.
Some researchers studying the British strain’s genome told CNN that they are concerned that the mutations of this variant may reduce the effectiveness of the vaccines.
“You could imagine a modest blow to vaccine efficacy, which wouldn’t be good, but I don’t think it would break the vaccine,” said Trevor Bedford, associate professor in the vaccines and infectious diseases division of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research. . Center, told the outlet.