Some COVID-19 mutations may reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine

Scientists report nasty signs that a recent mutation in the virus that causes COVID-19 may moderately suppress the efficacy of the two current vaccines, but Shot He emphasizes that he still protects against illness.

Researchers expressed concern about the preliminary findings on Wednesday. mutation It can weaken the vaccine. The study tested coronaviruses in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil, led by Rockefeller University in New York, and participated by scientists such as the National Institutes of Health.

Another more limited study conducted on Wednesday gave encouraging news about one. vaccineProtection against some mutations.

One way the vaccine works is in the immune system, Virus From infected cells. Rockefeller researchers took blood samples from 20 people who received either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine and tested antibodies against various viral mutations in the lab.

According to Rockefeller Dr. Michel Nussenzweig, some antibodies did not work well against the virus. Depending on the mutation, the activity was one to one-third.

“It’s a small difference, but it’s definitely a difference,” he said. The antibody reaction is “not so good” to block the virus.

Previous studies have confirmed that the two vaccines are approximately 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 disease.

Latest survey results It was posted on an online researcher website late Tuesday, but has not yet been published in the journal and reviewed by other scientists. Nussenzweig is paid by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which also supports scientific coverage over the Associated Press. The university has applied for a patent related to his work.

Coronaviruses are more genetically diversified, and scientists say the main reason is the high incidence of new cases. With each new infection, the virus is given the opportunity to mutate when making a copy of itself.

Recent variants, or versions of the virus that have emerged in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil, appear to spread more easily, and scientists say it leads to more cases, deaths, and hospitalizations. The new variant does not appear to cause more serious illness, but there are concerns about its ability to ultimately undercut the vaccine.

E. John Welly, an immunology expert at the University of Pennsylvania, said Rockefeller scientists were “the best in the world” in the study, and their results are concerned.

“I don’t want people to think that current vaccines are already out of date. That’s definitely not true,” he said. “There is still immunity here … there is a sufficient level of protection,” but mutations “in fact reduce how well our immune response recognizes the virus.”

Dr. Buddy Kleech, a vaccine expert at Vanderbilt University, said the news was coming “a very important time in the pandemic.”

“There is an arms race between vaccines and viruses. The slower the vaccine is deployed around the world, the more chances it has to escape the virus,” he said.

Dr. Matthew Woodruff, an immunology researcher at Emory University, agreed.

“This will be a kind of slow evolutionary process. We will need tools that evolve slowly with it, such as treatments that provide a combination of antibodies rather than one,” he said.

Dr. Drew Wiseman, a scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, said the study helped lead to a vaccine for Moderna and Pfizer, and said the discovery of antibodies was worrisome, but the vaccine was a reaction from other parts of the immune system. He said he would protect it in other ways, such as by promoting it. With only 20 new jobs, he said, “and all of that is important” in terms of how generalized the results are, not in a wide range of ages and races.

On Wednesday, Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech reported their second reassuring discovery of a vaccine against one of the variants.

Earlier this month, researchers at Pfizer and the University of Texas School of Medicine said the vaccine remained effective against a mutation called N501Y from new mutants found in the United Kingdom and South Africa. Similarly, when they tested some additional mutations, there were no signs of problems.

The latest study tested all mutations from the UK variant at once instead of one at a time. Tests from 16 vaccinated people did not show a significant difference in the ability of antibodies to block the virus, the researchers said. Said in the report..

Pfizer did not immediately comment on Rockefeller’s discovery, but its chief scientific officer, Dr. Philip Dormizer, previously took the next step in testing vaccines against additional mutations found in South African mutants. Was included.

Moderna and AstraZeneca, which manufacture different types of COVID-19 vaccines used in some countries, are also testing how the vaccines tolerate different mutations.

If the virus eventually mutates sufficiently and the vaccine needs to be adjusted (so that influenza vaccination changes most years), fine-tuning the recipe for vaccines made with new technology. Is not difficult. Both the Pfizer and Modelna vaccines are made up of parts of the viral genetic code that are easy to switch.

Dr. Gregory Poland, a Mayo Clinic vaccine expert, says it is “wishful thinking” to believe that first-generation vaccines are sufficient, or that vaccines alone will solve the problem.

“We shoot our feet by allowing unreduced infections of this virus,” he said. And it doesn’t take “common sense” measures that require masks to be worn, as some other countries do.

“Why are the bars and restaurants full? It’s like’what a pandemic?’. I cut the seeds I sown.”

© 2021 AP communication. all rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.