Pfizer Vaccine Is 'Highly Likely' To Deal With The UK COVID-19 Strain Says BioNTech

There's "scientific confidence."
Senior Writer

When it comes to the new COVID-19 strain in the U.K., a top BioNTech official has said that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is "highly likely" to work with the variant.

Speaking during a press conference on December 22, BioNTech CEO Uğur Şahin explained, "this variant is a little bit different, it has nine mutations."

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We have scientific confidence that the vaccine might protect. Ugur Sahin

Şahin said that the immune response brought on by the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is scientifically "highly likely" to deal with the new variant.

He also noted that there is "scientific confidence" it should offer protection from the strain, which was found in the U.K.

However, this will only be confirmed through experiments and data, which he said could about two weeks to get.

According to Global News, a WHO official also revealed that the U.K. has reported that they don't believe the new variant will affect the vaccine.

Canada has now banned flights from Britain but an expert believes that it might have already made its way here.

Ontario health officials confirmed to Narcity on December 21 that the U.K. strain hasn't been found in the province.

  • Senior Writer

    Lisa Belmonte (she/her) is a Senior Writer with Narcity Media. After graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), she joined the Narcity team. Lisa covers news and notices from across the country from a Canada-wide perspective. Her early coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic earned Narcity its first-ever national journalism award nomination.