COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines Appear Effective Against Multiple Variants

Data from three studies indicate that fully vaccinated patients are able to stave off severe disease from the B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1 variants.

Lisa Winter

| 2 min read

Woman holding a CDC COVID-19 vaccination card with both hands.

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As variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus continue to emerge and spread around the globe, experts have been concerned about how they will affect the efficacy of the vaccines that were designed using the original form of the virus. Two studies published yesterday (May 5), one in The Lancet and one as a letter in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), suggest that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine remains highly effective against the B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants. Also yesterday, Moderna released a statement indicating that early results from an ongoing study of a booster shot are encouraging with regard to the B.1.351 and P.1 variants as well.

The researchers behind the study in The Lancet examined thousands of cases in Israel from January through April and found that among those who were fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech shots, the vaccine was more than 97 percent effective at protecting ...

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Meet the Author

Lisa Winter
Lisa Winter became social media editor for The Scientist in 2017. In addition to her duties on social media platforms, she also pens obituaries for the website. She graduated from Arizona State University, where she studied genetics, cell, and developmental biology.
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