As COVID vaccinations continue ramping up in the U.S. and around the world, the makers of one of those vaccines has announced a series of human trial to see how effective their vaccine is against newly discovered coronavirus variants.
On Thursday, Pfizer and BioNTech announced they have begun researching how effective a third dose of their vaccine is against mutated COVID variants. The study is using 144 participants from its Phase 1 study in the U.S. who will be offered a chance to receive the third dose.
“While we have not seen any evidence that the circulating variants result in a loss of protection provided by our vaccine, we are taking multiple steps to act decisively and be ready in case a strain becomes resistant to the protection afforded by the vaccine,” said Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s chairman and CEO. “This booster study is critical to understanding the safety of a third dose and immunity against circulating strains.”
Health authorities say first-generation COVID-19 vaccines still protect against variants that are emerging in different parts of the world. But manufacturers are starting to prepare now in case a more vaccine-resistant mutation comes along.
Pfizer’s vaccine has been authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for people 16 years of age and older.
The companies also said they are in discussions with U.S. and European regulators about a study to evaluate doses updated to better match variants such as the one first discovered in South Africa.
Regardless of which vaccine is available, President Joe Biden’s top health adviser said Thursday morning that Americans should take it.
Dr. Anthony Fauci told NBC a third vaccine becoming available “is nothing but good news” and would help control the pandemic. U.S. regulators announced Wednesday that Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine offers strong protection against severe COVID-19. It’s expected to be authorized soon by the FDA for emergency use.
Fauci warned people not to hold off on getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine while waiting for the slightly more effective Pfizer or Moderna shots. He said it’s a race “between the virus and getting vaccines into people” and “the longer one waits not getting vaccinated, the better chance the virus has to get a variant or a mutation.”
Fauci says public health officials are always concerned about virus variants and stressed following public health measures of wearing masks and social distancing.
The predominant coronavirus variant in the United States is from Britain. Fauci said the vaccines distributed in the U.S. “clearly can take care of that particular strain.”
Viruses constantly mutate as they spread, and most changes aren’t significant. First-generation COVID-19 vaccines appear to be working against today’s variants, but makers already are taking steps to update their recipes if health authorities decide that’s needed.
COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna are made with new technology that’s easy to update. The so-called mRNA vaccines use a piece of genetic code for the spike protein that coats the coronavirus, so the immune system can learn to recognize and fight the real thing.
If a variant with a mutated spike protein crops up that the original vaccine can’t recognize, companies would swap out that piece of genetic code for a better match, if regulators decide that’s necessary.
The FDA said studies of updated COVID-19 vaccines won’t have to be as large or long as for the first generation of shots. Instead, a few hundred volunteers could receive experimental doses of a revamped vaccine and have their blood checked for signs it revved up the immune system as well as the original vaccines.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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