Pharmalittle: Pfizer vaccine seems less potent against Covid-19 variant in lab test; WTO urges end to vaccine export restrictions

Hello, everyone, and how are you today? We are doing just dandy, despite another blanket of snow descending on the Pharmalot campus. A picturesque winter scene can be relaxing, yes? But there is some shoveling in our future. So we are fortifying ourselves with another cup of stimulation — our choice this morning is mountain blueberry — as we also prepare for a panel we will moderate at 1 p.m. ET today on antibiotic resistance. Meanwhile, here are a few items of interest we have gathered. Hope your day goes well and you stay safe. …

A laboratory test suggests the Covid-19 vaccine made by Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX) loses some potency against the coronavirus variant that first appeared in South Africa, STAT writes. What the findings mean for how well the vaccine will protect real people from the variant, called B.1.351, is hard to tell. But clinical data for vaccines made by AstraZeneca (AZN), Novavax (NVAX), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) have already shown they are not as powerful at blocking symptomatic Covid-19 cases caused by B.1.351 as by other forms of the virus.

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