Coronavirus
Pfizer, AstraZeneca shots work against Delta variant: Study
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A teenager in Chile's capital Santiago receiving a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Wednesday. Public Health England found last week that vaccines made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca offer protection of more than 90 per cent against hospitalisation from the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON • Covid-19 vaccines made by AstraZeneca and the Pfizer-BioNTech alliance remain broadly effective against the Delta and Kappa variants of the coronavirus - both of which were first identified in India - according to a scientific study, underpinning a continued push to deliver the shots.
The study by Oxford University researchers, published in the journal Cell, investigated the ability of antibodies in the blood of people who were vaccinated with the two-shot regimens to neutralise the highly contagious Delta and Kappa variants, a statement said.
"There is no evidence of widespread escape, suggesting that the current generation of vaccines will provide protection against the B1617 lineage," the paper said, referring to the Delta and Kappa variants by a commonly used code.
However, the concentration of neutralising antibodies in the blood was somewhat reduced, which may lead to some breakthrough infections, they cautioned.
Last week, an analysis by Public Health England showed that vaccines made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca offer high protection of more than 90 per cent against hospitalisation from the Delta variant.
"We are encouraged to see the non-clinical results published from Oxford and these data, alongside the recent early real-world analysis from Public Health England, provide us with a positive indication that our vaccine can have significant impact against the Delta variant," said AstraZeneca executive Mene Pangalos.
The Delta variant is becoming the globally dominant version, the World Health Organisation's chief scientist said last Friday.
The Oxford study also analysed the likelihood of reinfection in people who previously had Covid-19.
Looking at the ability of antibodies in their blood samples to neutralise the variants, the risk of reinfection with the Delta variant appeared particularly high in those previously infected by the Beta and Gamma lineages from South Africa and Brazil, respectively.
In contrast, previous infection with the Alpha variant, or B117, first detected in Britain, conferred reasonable cross-protection against all variants of concern.
"B117 might be a candidate for new variant vaccines to provide the broadest protection," the researchers said.
REUTERS
