COVID-19 Vaccine Update: Pfizer's Coronavirus Vaccine Less Effective But Still Gives Protection Against B.1.617 Variant, Reveals Study

London, May 29: A recent study reveals that Pfizer's vaccine against COVID-19 is less effective against coronavirus, but it gives protection against more variants of the virus first found in India. The study was conducted by France's Pasteur Institute. The study collected samples from 28 healthcare workers in the city of Orleans. Out of the total sample, sixteen of them had received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 Vaccine Approved by EMA for Children Aged 12-15.

People who had received two jabs of the Pfizer vaccine saw a three-fold reduction in their antibodies against B.1.617 variant. However, they still are protected. Meanwhile, the AstraZeneca vaccine induces low levels of antibodies neutralising the B.1.617 variant. COVID-19 Vaccine Update: People Fully Vaccinated With Sputnik V Do Not Spread COVID-19, Says Vaccine Developer.

People who had contracted CIVID-19 last year and were vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer managed to retain enough antibodies, which protect them against the COVID-19 variant found in India. 'The study shows that "this variant.. has acquired partial resistance to antibodies," reported news agency AFP quoting Olivier Schwartz, the institute's director and co-author of the study as saying.

Another study conducted by Public Health England (PHE) finds that doses of either Pfizer and AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine are highly effective against the B16172 variant. The vaccines were also found to give a similar level of protection against symptomatic disease from the B117 variant, the PHE study claimed.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 29, 2021 09:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).