PFIZER's Covid-19 vaccine appears to be effective against the UK variant of coronavirus currently spreading rapidly across Britain and Ireland.
Over the past few months, the emergence of a mutant strain of Covid-19, which was first identified in south-east England, has caused widespread concern.
The variant, dubbed B.1.1.7, is reportedly 70% more transmissible than the original strain of Covid-19.
There were fears that the vaccines being distributed across the world might not be as effective against the mutated variant, but thankfully this doesn't seem to be the case.
A new study, conducted by BioNTech (who developed the Pfizer vaccine), saw blood samples collected from 16 people who had received their jab in previous clinical trials.
They found that a lab-made version of the virus, with mutations resembling that of B.1.1.7, was neutralised effectively by the antibodies in the blood.
Researchers said that their results indicate that it's "unlikely" that their vaccine will ever be ineffective against the UK variant.
"The so-called 'Kent variant' of the Covid-19 coronavirus is no less susceptible to neutralisation by antibodies produces in response to Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine," said Dr Simon Clarke, an associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading.
"This experimental evidence confirms earlier predictions."
A study was also conducted to test the effectiveness of the vaccine against another mutations which emerged in South Africa, dubbed N501Y.
It produced similar results, indicating that Pfizer's vaccine is effective against all existing mutations.
It's important to remember, though, that the study uses a very small sample size, and is yet to be peer-reviewed.
Despite that though, signs are positive.
See More: Covid-19, Covid-19 Vaccine, Pfizer, UK Variant
