BioNTech and Pfizer are confident that their vaccine is effective against the new strain
The vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer against covid-19 may also be effective against the new strain discovered in the United Kingdom. The executive director of Ugur Sahin, the German pharmaceutical company, considers that the probability of this is “relatively high”.
The new coronavirus variant has activated all the alarms in recent days, especially in the EU. Cases continue to rebound, and the pandemic is not controlled.
Given the uncertainty created by the new strain, most EU countries have cancelled or restricted flights or other types of communications with the United Kingdom, even causing collapses at some borders.
Fear was also evident in the markets yesterday. Stock markets suffered marked drops and oil prices registered cuts of up to 6% due to the threat of further falls in global demand.
Cases of the new strain of SARS-CoV-2 have already been detected outside the UK, particularly in Gibraltar, Denmark and Australia. However, hope is growing that its antidote will not be long in coming.
According to BioNTech, German pharmaceutical company, it could arrive in just weeks. According to its executive director, the vaccine developed together with the American Pfizer could also be effective against the new variant.
The confirmation on the effectiveness of the vaccine against the new variant will be known in six weeks
Ugur Sahin admitted that the vaccine could also protect against the new variant. He has shown scientific confidence since 99% of the new strain proteins are the same as in the original.
In any case, the German company is collecting data and doing new analyzes and studies to be more confident in weeks, Sahin stated.
The probability that the vaccine will work against the new covid-19 mutation is relatively high.
The company could obtain the necessary information in the next two weeks. The executive anticipated that the confirmation on the effectiveness of the vaccine against the new variant of covid-19 could be known in six weeks.
However, Ugur Sahin has pointed out the uncertainty about whether the health authorities would have to give a new ‘go-ahead’ to the injection.
The Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine has been the first to receive the green light in the West. The United States Food and Drug Administration, FDA, authorized its emergency use on the 14th. Since then, vaccination against the coronavirus has been carried out in the country.
