A new study finds that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is likely effective against new variants of SARS-CoV-2.
Mutations to the spike protein in SARS-CoV-2 have concerned researchers because COVID-19 vaccines are designed to identify and go after the viral spike protein.
Researchers suspect that as long as COVID-19 is spreading readily, more mutations will come.
All data and statistics are based on publicly available data at the time of publication. Some information may be out of date. Visit our coronavirus hub and follow our live updates page for the most recent information on the COVID-19 pandemic.
New evidence suggests that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine will likely be effective against the variants of the coronavirus detected in the United Kingdom and South Africa.
Multiple mutations of the virus called variants are worrying health experts.
There’s currently no evidence the variants will affect the effectiveness of the vaccines or cause a more severe illness.
All data and statistics are based on publicly available data at the time of publication. Some information may be out of date. Visit our coronavirus hub and follow our live updates page for the most recent information on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the start of the pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 has been mutating.
Most mutations are useless and go undetected, but every so often, a series of mutations will produce a variant that’s better at infecting people and making them sick.
Written by Julia Ries on December 16, 2020 â Fact checked by Dana K. Cassell
Seasonal flu activity is lower than normal. Noam Galai/Getty Images
More adults have gotten the flu shot in pharmacies in 2020 compared to last yearâs flu season.
But vaccination rates among certain groups â such as non-Hispanic Black adults and children â seem to have dropped off a bit.
Even though flu activity is low, and overall vaccination rates are strong, the flu is out there and could surge at any moment.
All data and statistics are based on publicly available data at the time of publication. Some information may be out of date. Visit our coronavirus hub and follow our live updates page for the most recent information on the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Coronavirus vaccines can have side effects â that typically means theyâre working
By Joel Achenbach The Washington Post,Updated December 13, 2020, 1:54 p.m.
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Pfizer s COVID-19 vaccine was loaded onto a place in Lansing, Michigan, on Sunday.Matthew Dae Smith/Associated Press
The new coronavirus vaccine appears to be extremely effective - blocking serious illness entirely in randomized trials - and it has passed strict safety reviews and won emergency authorization from regulators in five countries so far, including the United States. But news bulletins in the past week provided a reminder that this remains a revolutionary pharmaceutical agent that will be scrutinized in the months ahead as shots go into arms.