Addis Ababa, March 9, 2021 (Walta) – The Pfizer-BioNTech Coronavirus vaccine appears to be highly effective against a more contagious variant of the virus 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 the variant’s spread.
The study, conducted by Pfizer scientists and researchers at the University of Texas, comes as public health experts warn that the more transmissible variants could drive yet another surge in COVID-19 cases, particularly as restrictions are lifted across the United States.
The variant, known as P.1 has spread rapidly across Brazil since emerging in early January, reinfecting people who already had covid, and leaving a tidal wave of misery and death in its wake. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just 15 cases of the Brazil variant have been identified in nine states.
(Source: The Washington Post)