Pfizer vaccine can effectively combat mutant COVID strain: Study

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can combat the mutant coronavirus strain, first detected in the United Kingdom, as effectively as it can other more common variants observed in the United States.

Supported by the two companies, the study concluded that it’s “very unlikely” that the COVID-19 strain, dubbed B.1.1.7., would not be neutralized with the same 95% effectiveness that the Pfizer immunization had in trials with other virus strains. B.1.1.7., which was first discovered in September, spreads more rapidly and efficiently than earlier observed versions of the SARS-CoV-2 lineage. The study, published on Tuesday, has yet to be peer reviewed.