Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine does work against the new variant that emerged in the UK, as well as against the South African variant that scientists have worried might evade shots, new research suggests. It's the first study to show that the shot works against the full variants - rather than just mutated pieces of them - in the lab. It comes as variants become more common across the US, with nearly 1,000 cases of the UK 117 variant identified and at lest 11 cases of the South African variant. While the UK variant is estimated to be up to 70 percent more infectious, it is not thought to do much to weaken vaccines. Variants that emerged in South Africa and Brazil, on the other hand, have mutations that may help them 'escape' the vaccine.

Source: The Nation February 11, 2021 23:37 UTC