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Pfizer and BioNTech are preparing to begin clinical trials of a version of their Covid-19 vaccine aimed at the Delta variant next month amid fears that existing funnels offer less protection against the rapidly spreading infectious strain. much of the world.
Drug manufacturers were developing an updated version of the existing vaccine that would be made using the Delta variant lineage, Pfizer said Thursday. Pfizer and BioNTech are in talks with the U.S. drug regulator to finalize their clinical trial plans and hope to begin studies in August.
The companies are the first to create a vaccine focused on targeting the Delta variant, a move that underscores the concern that the highly transmissible strain could evade existing shocks and that new measures are needed to deal with it.
The Delta variant was first detected in India in December and has since spread to Europe and the United States, leading to an increase in coronavirus cases, especially among unvaccinated people. Delta is now the dominant strain in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and accounts for more than 90% of new Covid cases in the United Kingdom.
Pfizer reiterated its belief that a third shot of the vaccine administered six to twelve months would be needed after the second dose of its two-shot regiment to boost immunity to new variants.
He said he will soon publish more definitive data on the effect of a third shot and plans to send reinforcing data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration “in the coming weeks.”
The New York-based company noted preliminary data released last month showing two doses of vaccine causing antibody titers against the Delta variant, but said the vaccine’s effectiveness was shown to decrease six months later of vaccination.
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“Although we believe a third dose of [our vaccine] has the potential to preserve the highest levels of protective efficacy against all currently known variants, including Delta, we are alert and are developing an updated version of the Pfizer-Covid-19 vaccine, ”Pfizer said.
A study by Israel’s health ministry this week indicated that the BioNTech / Pfizer blow was 93% effective in preventing serious illness and hospitalization for Delta, but only in 64% to protect against variant infection.
Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have said that early data show that their blows produce antibodies against Delta.
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