Here’s how Pfizer’s Corona mutation vaccine works

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A study has investigated whether the Corona mutation affects the protective efficacy of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

The good news right off the bat: BioNTech and Pfizer’s Corona vaccine appears to be effective against the more contagious British variant, too, according to the study.

For the study, blood samples from 16 vaccinated participants from previous clinical trials were exposed to a synthetic, so-called pseudovirus. This was constructed in such a way that it had the same genetic changes in the so-called spike protein that characterize both the British B.1.1.7 variant and the South African variant – there are already several proofs in this country as well.

The researchers were able to show that the antibodies were virtually as effective at neutralizing the pseudoviruses with mutated spike protein as the coronavirus version. That makes it “highly unlikely” that the vaccine won’t protect against disease caused by the mutation, according to the study published Wednesday.

But there is – still – a small catch. Although Carsten Watzl, secretary general of the German Society for Immunology, finds the results “very reassuring,” according to DPA, the data have not yet been published in a scientific journal and thus have not yet been objectively reviewed.

In addition, Biontech CEO Ugur Sahin has announced that he will soon publish a more detailed analysis of the likely effect of his vaccine on the South African variant. This mutation apparently manages to pass through parts of the immune system and thus “escape” the antibodies.