Health officials say Pfizer’s COVID-19
vaccine appears to work against a key mutation in new variants of
coronavirus.
Two
new variants considered more contagious were first identified in the U.K. and
South Africa.
Researchers at Pfizer and The
University of Texas used a mutation found in both variants to create a version
of the virus.
The researchers tested it
against blood from 20 people who had received two doses of the vaccine as part
of the clinical trial.
Researchers
found no reduction in neutralization activity.
The study did not test the
vaccine against the full array of mutations. However, researchers say both
Pfizer and Moderna used technology that would allow them to quickly adapt for
mutations.
The news comes as
hospitals scramble to ramp up vaccinations ahead of today's deadline.
As News 12 has reported,
today is the deadline for all hospitals statewide to use their entire COVID-19
supply.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said if the
supply is not used, hospitals could face fines of up to $100,000.