Pfizer, Moderna vaccines show reduced antibody response to South Africa variant

While somewhat less effective against the potent coronavirus mutation first detected in South Africa, researchers say Pfizer’s vaccine is still strong enough to neutralize the pathogen. Reporting in the New England Journal of Medicine, the manufacturer said its vaccine produced approximately one-third of the antibodies normally mobilized with the original coronavirus strain. The activity appeared to neutralize the virus anyway, although the study was conducted in a lab and not under real-world conditions. In a separate letter to the editor in the journal, Moderna highlighted previously disclosed data illustrating that antibody levels generated by its vaccine were six-fold lower in the presence of the South African mutation, known as B.1.351. The vaccine’s efficacy against the variant is unclear thus far.