It is the strongest evidence yet that the vaccine can stop two of the strains most concerning to scientists.
Plus, protection against severe death and disease remained remarkably high at more than 97%.
“It’s pretty amazing how well the vaccines are holding up against these variants.”
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The Vaccines Are Effective Against Variants
These two studies focused on the vaccine by Pfizer.
The AstraZeneca vaccine proved largely ineffective at preventing any kind of disease when tested in South Africa.
This is basically a cat-and-mouse game with the virus," Abu-Raddad says.
If you haven’t been vaccinated, find an appointment near you atVaccineFinder.org.
How Are the Booster Shots Faring?
Earlier this month, Moderna announced the results from tests exploring two booster shot options.
One is a third shot of the original vaccine formula currently used for their two-dose vaccine.
The other is a third shot specifically tailored to the B.1.351 variant.
It appeared that the formula designed to combat the B.1.351 variant was more effective in doing so.
We may have boosters, but then maybe that’s it.
It’s time, hopefully soon, to go back to our normal life.
A new variant, called B.1.617, emerged during the spike.
TheWHOnamed it a variant of concern because it seems to be highly transmissible.
But some early tests indicate various vaccines may hold up against the double-mutant strain.
Abu-Raddad agrees, saying he is optimistic that the vaccines will demonstrate good effectiveness against these variants.
With higher vaccination rates comes fewer opportunities for the virus to infect people and mutate into new variants.
For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit ourcoronavirus news page.
2021;385:187-189. doi:10.1056/nejmc2104974
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.COVID Data Tracker.
