The immunization drive against the deadly coronavirus is progressing, with word this morning that Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) BioNTech SE’s (NASDAQ: BNTX) COVID-19 vaccine can neutralize a new variant of the virus in Brazil.
According to a lab study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, The scientists said the neutralizing ability was roughly equivalent to the vaccine’s effect on a previous version of the virus from last year.
Pfizer found that its vaccine neutralized other variants first identified in the U.K. and South Africa as per the interim data from the lab study.
Although the shot was slightly less effective against mutations in the South Africa variant. Pfizer believes its current vaccine is highly likely to still protect against the South African variant.
Blood samples of vaccinated people neutralized an engineered version of the virus that contained the same mutations carried on the spike portion of highly contagious P.1 variant first identified in Brazil, Pfizer scientists and researchers at the University of Texas found. The neutralizing ability was roughly equivalent to the vaccine’s effect on previous less contagious version of the virus from last year
PFE started Tuesday up 33 cents, or 1%, to $34.68, while those for BNTX –climbed $4.48, or 5%, to $94.77