Pfizer and Moderna, the two companies whose COVID-19 vaccines were launched in the US, are testing their blows to see if they are effective against the new strain spreading in the UK and other countries, according to a report.
“Based on the data so far, we expect Moderna’s vaccine-induced immunity to be protective against the recently described variants in the UK,” Moderna said in a statement, CNN reported.
“We will conduct additional tests in the coming weeks to confirm this expectation,” she added.
Pfizer said it was “generating data” on how well blood samples from people immunized with its vaccine “could neutralize the new strain in the UK,” according to the network.
Both companies said they found that their vaccines worked against other variants of the new coronavirus.
Some researchers studying the genome of the strain in the UK have told CNN that they are worried that mutations in this variant could reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.
“You could imagine a modest success in vaccine effectiveness, 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 diseases division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. .