The Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine appears to be highly effective against a more-contagious variant first discovered in Brazil, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, raising hopes that ongoing vaccination efforts will help curb its spread.
The study was conducted by scientists with the vaccine manufacturers — U.S. firm Pfizer and German partner BioNTech — and researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Researchers used the vaccines on viruses engineered to carry the mutations found in the Brazil strain, known as P.1, not the actual variant.
The findings have not been confirmed by real-world data, but they come as public-health experts warn that the more-transmissible variants could drive yet another surge in coronavirus cases, particularly as restrictions are lifted across the United States.
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