COVID-19: South African variant can 'break through' Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, claims study

The South African variant of the novel coronavirus can “break through” Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine to some extent, claimed an Israeli study that has not been peer reviewed. The researchers have found out that the novel coronavirus variant discovered in South Africa managed to penetrate the protection offered by the double-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to some degree even though it still remains unclear just how much efficacy of the shots is lost. The study released on April 10 is based on the comparison of nearly 400 people who tested positive for COVID-19 after two weeks or more of receiving the jabs, against same number of unvaccinated patients with the disease while matching age and gender and other characteristics.

In a first-of-its-kind global study, it was found out that the South African variant named B.1.351 made up nearly 1% of all the COVID-19 cases studied across all the people. The study was carried out by Tel Aviv University and Israel’s largest healthcare provider, Clalit. Moreover, for the patients who had received two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19, the South African variant’s prevalence rate was nearly eight times greater than in those who did not receive the jabs, that is, 5.4% versus 0.7% suggesting that the vaccine is less effective against B.1.351.

“Based on patterns in the general population, we would have expected just one case of the South African variant, but we saw eight,” Prof. Adi Stern, who headed the research, told The Times of Israel. “Obviously, this result didn’t make me happy.” She also said that the results reveal the South African variant when compared to the original strain as well as the British strain “is able to break through the vaccine’s protection” but added that the sample size is small and thus figure can not be put on its increased ability. 

Pfizer Seeks Covid-19 Vaccine Authorization For 12-15-year Olds 

Meanwhile, New York-based Pfizer and BioNTech SE of Germany have asked the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow usage of jabs on adolescents between 12 to 15 years of age. They have planned to request a similar ruling from other regulatory authorities worldwide. The companies said in a statement, “our hope is to make this vaccine available to the 12-15-year-old age group before the start of the 2021 school year.”

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