tudies confirm coronavirus vaccines are less effective against South African variant
In a study published in the journal Nature, scientists found that the coronavirus vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are significantly less effective against B.1.351.
The study collected blood samples from volunteers who had already been vaccinated to compare how the person’s antibodies responded to the original strain of the coronavirus and to the B.1.351 variant.
The research found that those who had been vaccinated using the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines had significantly fewer antibodies that could fight the B.1.351 coronavirus variant.
Another research has found that the coronavirus vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca are also less effective against the B.1.351 variant.
In Jan. 2021, both Pfizer and Modern said they were planning to develop and test “booster shots” that can supposedly improve the effectiveness of their vaccines against the B.1.351 variant. This means people who have already finished the two-dose regimen have to check in to get a follow-up shot.
Until the booster shot is developed, Pfizer and Moderna have warned people who have been previously vaccinated that they are still at risk of infection from either the B.1.351 or the P.1 variant first found in Brazil.
Learn more about the supposed effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccines by reading the latest articles at Vaccines.news.
Sources include:
Nature.com [PDF]
