South Africa test data demonstrates 100% protection, Pfizer vaccine latest results released

▎ WuXi AppTec content team editor "Is the new crown vaccine effective against newly emerging mutant viruses?" "Is the new crown vaccine the same as the flu vaccine? Will the new crown vaccine be given every year?" As the new crown vaccine is widely spread around the world, these are about the new crown vaccine.
Questions about the effectiveness and durability of vaccine protection have also been lingering.

Today, Pfizer and BioNTech announced the latest results in a phase 3 clinical trial of the new crown vaccine BNT162b2 jointly developed by both parties.

Data as of March 13, 2021 shows that BNT162b2 has a 91.
3% protection against COVID-19, and this protection lasts for at least 6 months.

Data from clinical trials conducted in South Africa where the new crown mutant virus strain B.
1.
351 is prevalent (n=800) shows that the protective efficacy of this vaccine reaches 100%.

This result is undoubtedly good news for people who expect the new crown vaccine to provide long-lasting protection.

Previously, the data released when BNT162b2 was reviewed by the FDA was based on the evaluation of 170 COVID-19 patients with symptoms.
At that time, the protective efficacy of BNT162b2 was 95%.

The data released today is based on the evaluation of 927 symptomatic COVID-19 patients.
Among them, 850 patients were from the placebo group and 77 patients were from the BNT162b2 group.
The vaccine efficacy was 91.
3% (95% CI: 89.
0, 93.
2).
).

In terms of preventing serious diseases, the latest results also provide more information.

During the data analysis on November 18 last year, a total of 10 patients with severe COVID-19 were found in clinical trials, of which one was from the vaccine group.

The latest results released today include 22 patients with severe COVID-19, and only one case is from the vaccine group.

This means that between the two analyses, the vaccine group did not find any new severe COVID-19 cases.

A number of previous studies have shown that the new coronavirus strain B.
1.
351 found in South Africa can evade the recognition of neutralizing antibodies in the serum of certain recovered patients or vaccinators, which may lead to a decrease in the protective efficacy of the vaccine.

The data released today includes 800 volunteers registered in South Africa.

Nine symptomatic COVID-19 patients were found among these volunteers, all of whom were from the placebo group, showing that the vaccine efficacy reached 100% (95% CI, 53.
5, 100.
0).

Sequencing analysis of the virus strains infecting these 9 patients revealed that 6 of them were infected with B.
1.
351.

Although WuXi AppTec's content team has a small number of patients in clinical trials in South Africa, the protective effect of B.
1.
351 still needs to be further confirmed, but the current test results are consistent with the results of neutralizing antibody experiments against the new coronavirus mutant strain.

The experimental results published in the New England Journal of Medicine in March showed that the serum of volunteers vaccinated with the BNT162b2 vaccine neutralized B.
1.
351, as well as the B.
1.
1.
7 and P1 strains originally found in the United Kingdom and Brazil.
ability.

Although the neutralizing ability of the B.
1.
351 virus strain has decreased compared with the wild type, it still maintains a high level.

The current data does not show that it will affect the vaccine's protective efficacy against this mutant strain.

▲Neutralizing ability of sera from volunteers vaccinated with BNT162b2 against different new coronavirus strains (picture source: reference [2]) In terms of safety, more than 12,000 volunteers vaccinated with two doses of the vaccine have been followed up for at least 6 months without any findings Serious security issues.

"These data further prove the superior efficacy and safety characteristics of our vaccine, so that we are expected to submit a biologics license application (BLA) to the US FDA.

" Pfizer CEO Dr.
Albert Bourla said.

The excellent performance of BNT162b2 6 months after vaccination means that the vaccine may provide long-lasting protective efficacy.

Dr.
Eric Topol, the founder of The Scripps Research Institute and a well-known American doctor and scientist, tweeted: “These findings are good news for the long-term protection of vaccines unless they have stronger immune escape capabilities.
With the emergence of mutant strains, we may see a long-lasting immune response for up to 2-3 years.

” He also warned that because the current spread of the virus has not been controlled, mutant strains with stronger immune escape capabilities may still appear.
Speeding up the pace of vaccination and allowing more people to develop immunity is an important means of limiting virus mutations.

Reference: [1] Pfizer and BioNTech Confirm High Efficacy and No Serious Safety Concerns Through Up to Six Months Following Second Dose in Updated Topline Analysis of Landmark COVID-19 Vaccine Study.
Retrieved April 1, 2021, from https://www.
businesswire.
com/news/home/20210401005365/en/[2] Liu et al.
, (2021).
Neutralizing Activity of BNT162b2-Elicited Serum.
NEJM, DOI: 10.
1056/NEJMc2102017.
[3] Eric Topol.
Retrieved April 1, 2021, from https://twitter.
com/EricTopol/status/1377637894513324040 Note: This article aims to introduce the progress of medical and health research, not a treatment plan recommendation.

If you need guidance on treatment plans, please go to a regular hospital for treatment.